


Fools Rush In

by galaxiebot



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Celebrity Shiro, Complete, M/M, NSFW, secret celebrity AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 11:51:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxiebot/pseuds/galaxiebot
Summary: Shiro wants to take some time off from his hectic life as an A-list celebrity, and while he knew that a hoverbike tour in the desert would be relaxing, he certainly didn't expect it to end up head over heels for his tour guide. Keith might not know who Shiro is, but that doesn't mean Keith won't find out eventually that Shiro is a famous actor, Shiro just hopes that Keith's not mad when he finds out Shiro isn't actually an audio engineer.





	1. Chapter 1

Shiro stepped out of the car in front of the tiny shack with a quick thank you to Coran as he reminded him when he’d be picking Shiro up the next day and that he needed to drink water and take his vitamins and wash his face. He shut the door on Coran with another quick thank you as he tried to ask if Shiro remembered his face wash. He seemed to get the message, pulling away down the dirt road with a wave while Shiro promptly turned off his phone. Just as it shut down, he got a text reminding him that he couldn’t miss the script reading on Monday, no matter how much he wanted to stay. 

He loved Coran very much, he was a very good friend and manager, but Shiro felt like they maybe needed to have another conversation about boundaries. Shiro would only be on the desert tour for two days and one night, Coran could handle not being able to ask him about skincare routine. He took a deep breath and steeled himself as he walked up to the shack. 

It had a shabby little sign which read: HOVERBIKE TOURS AND RENTALS. Shiro could see four hoverbikes parked in a carport just behind the shack, each of which had a thick tarp and a series of bungee cords holding them in place. 

“Hello.” 

Shiro nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice, grabbing onto the strap of the backpack he had slung over one shoulder, but he managed to smile. The man standing in front of him looked about his age, a little shorter, dark hair, sharp eyes, pretty lips. Shiro stopped himself. He should not go down that road. Especially since this guy looked like he was struggling not to look uninviting. 

“Hi, I’m, uhm,” he paused for just a moment, “I’m Takashi Shirogane, I have a reservation but I think it’s under the name Coran Smythe?” 

The man blinked at him, and then he shook his head slightly, “yes, sorry. I have a reservation for that name. I’m Keith.” 

Shiro took Keith’s hand when he extended it, nodding slightly as Keith looked at him. He could feel it coming, it always started with “you look familiar” or “wait you’re that guy!” Shiro just prayed this didn’t turn out weird. But it didn’t come, Keith, instead, had already started towards the hoverbikes, waving Shiro along with him. 

“Nice to meet you,” he said, “you can call me Shiro, by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you too.” Keith slipped his jacket off, which Shiro couldn’t particularly contemplate him wearing in this heat, but when he tied it around his waist, pausing to grab a pair of leather work gloves, Shiro felt something in his head snap. God Keith had nice arms, god Keith was fucking attractive, Shiro finally let himself get all the way through the thought, hoping that it would help him pat it down. “Sorry these aren’t out yet, the dust storm lasted most of the night and only ended a few hours ago, so I couldn’t risk taking the tarps off.” 

“It’s no trouble. Need a hand?” Shiro followed Keith, helping him undo bungee cords even as Keith tried to tell Shiro he didn’t have to. Keith also didn’t seem to mind, it made the work go faster and then Shiro could marvel at the two pristine hoverbikes for a second. They certainly weren’t clean, but as Keith popped each of them on, the engines purred like they just rolled off the lot. Well, hovered off the lot. 

“So just to go over a few things,” Keith said, grabbed a pair of safety goggles and offered them to Shiro, “the tour is two days, one night. We’ll be camping out near the canyon and usually get up fairly early in the morning. Have you driven one of these before?” 

Shiro nodded enthusiastically, which earned him a laugh that made him feel like mush inside. He and Keith instantly seemed to get along, a click like Shiro hadn’t had with someone since he was in his first movie, or maybe it was the first time he’d ever experienced this. Even as Keith loaded up the bikes and went over final safety information, he didn’t once mention seeing Shiro somewhere before or wonder if they’d met before or even casually drop the fact that he’d seen Shiro in a movie before. 

He kept waiting for it to happen, but then suddenly Shiro got on a hoverbike, following Keith as Shiro gingerly tested the accelerator and breaks so he could get used to them. Once he had, he signaled Keith to let him know Shiro was ready, and they promptly started down the desert trail. Keith didn’t seem to care, he even commended Shiro on his ability to drive, and it made Shiro want to melt more than the sun could. 

They stopped to eat lunch, Keith taking them to a scenic location and naming all of the mountain peaks in the area. And then Keith smiled in a way that made Shiro’s chest feel funny and asked, “so what do you do for a living? Since you know what I do already.” 

Shiro froze, he could tell the truth, the whole truth, right there and then, but also, Keith genuinely didn’t seem to know who Shiro was an actor. To Keith right now, he was just Shiro, and that felt great. Everyone else in the world treated him like some kind of god, or they automatically hated him for who knows what reason. The thought of Keith turning out to be one of those people scared him far too much. So he lied. 

“I’m in the film industry.” Shiro looked down at his sandwich, it looked sort of like Keith had made it, but he got the feeling Coran had put some sort of order in for him. 

“Oh really? What do you do?” Keith’s eyebrows went up, a calm smile on his face that still indicated he had no idea that Shiro had been in a bunch of romcoms which rocketed him into stardom for his looks and landed him a role as the White Lion, King of Altea in a three-part, action-fantasy series that just dropped the first trailer for the second movie and everyone in the world wanted a piece of him at the moment. Shiro justified his next lie by reminding himself he came out for the tour to avoid all of that. 

“I’m just an audio engineer.” He avoided looking at Keith by biting into his sandwich. 

“Oh neat.” Keith briefly looked embarrassed by what had come out of his mouth, and then he promptly added, “where did you learn to drive a hoverbike?” 

Shiro realized suddenly that he had learned to drive a hoverbike on his grandfather's farm and picked it up again for the sake of a part he didn’t get. So he shrugged, “decided to take a class. I have odd hours, leaves a lot of free time.” 

“I understand that,” Keith said, “this job doesn’t exactly come with normal hours.” 

“How many of these tours do you do a week?” Shiro was content to not talk about his career at all, ever again, for the rest of this trip. Keith’s though, that he could talk about.

“Only one a week if I have one booked,” Keith said, “this is a side gig to keep the bikes nice. I’m a mechanic.” 

Shiro immediately could see Keith in coveralls with grease stains on his skin, and it made him a little more turned on than he’d like to admit to. The problem with being a celebrity in any form, being able to go on dates or even have sex required way too much screening, scheduling, and hiding from paparazzi. He had been alone with his hand a long time, and Keith honestly looked a bit like he’d walked out of one of Shiro’s wet dreams. Shiro just hoped he wasn’t acting too weird.

Keith, luckily, didn’t seem to notice, offering to show Shiro the engine of one of the bikes, pointing things out, talking about modifications he’d made. It wasn’t long before Keith was leaning in close to Shiro, guiding his hand over something Keith wanted him to see, or at one point, gently nudging Shiro’s shoulder with his elbow and teasing him about looking like a kid in a candy store. 

When they got back on their bikes, Keith pulled alongside him, engine whirring, leaning over the handlebars like an old pro and he grinned. “Want to race?” 

“Yes.” Shiro didn't need to be asked twice, he watched as Keith clicked a few buttons on his bike which brought up a map on each of their control panels. He quickly marked out the route, it was safe but had the opportunity to be wild if either of them wanted to. Shiro nodded along, stealing little glances at Keith until Keith caught him doing it, at which point he focused back on the map and tried to pretend that didn't just happen. Keith smiled at him though, and that made everything way worse. 

“This isn't something I do with all my customers.” Keith turned off the screen share, but the map stayed open on Shiro's bike so he wouldn't get horribly lost in this process. “Please don't make me regret it.” 

Shiro laughed but his stomach filled up with butterflies, “I won't, I promise.”

“Good. Start on one.” He turned on a timer, both hoverbikes making beeping noises as the numbers counted down over the map on Shiro's screen. Shiro wasn't sure why he felt so confident that this was Keith's way of flirting with him, but it did him in all the same. The timer hit one, and Shiro actually managed to pull out ahead, leaning into the handlebar of the bike as he shot out along the first straight away. 

The first turn looked rough, Shiro could tell before he even came to it, doing his best to hug the left. He didn't expect Keith to go far to the right, and for a moment, as he drove his bike at a harsh angle, riding the wall with a grin on his face that made him look far softer, Shiro knew he'd fallen face first into the ground for Keith. But he also knew the way to impress Keith would be to win, so Shiro pressed his feet down hard and cranked the throttle back. 

For a moment, he wished he had a helmet on, it was too late now. He could see the headline already, CELEBRITY DIES IN TRAGIC HOVERBIKE ACCIDENT BECAUSE HE HAD A CRUSH ON HIS TOUR GUIDE. At least, that's how Allura would put it. Shiro refocused, watching Keith as he swung out in front of him, keeping left on the next turn to block him in and then nudged the bike into the middle of the path so Shiro couldn't easily get around him at all. It didn't matter, Shiro narrowed in on a plan, speeding up and drawing on every summer he'd spent glued to a hoverbike at his grandfather's house as a teen, doing stupid shit he shouldn't be doing, he went off track. 

He climbed a ridge alongside Keith, watching carefully until he had the perfect shot because he really couldn't mess this up. In a swift motion, he hopped the bike off the ridge, turning up the thrust just enough that he landed with only a bounce in front of Keith, the tight ridge trapping him just behind Shiro. Keith looked like he might have a heart attack when Shiro looked back at him, but Shiro just laughed and pulled out of the ridge in a tight movement, Keith close on his tail. Shiro managed to keep in front of him this time, blocking him out even as he tried to swing right again. 

Of course, that didn't stop Keith from turning his whole bike towards Shiro on a hairpin turn, swinging the tail around like the hand on a clock. It sent Keith spinning, just for a turn or two out in front of Shiro. He righted himself so fast Shiro couldn't believe his eyes, and then the map on his screen started to blink, Keith sailing across the finish line first and slowing down. 

When Shiro stopped alongside him, Keith had his hands behind him on the seat, “hey remember when I said don't make me regret that?” 

Shiro gave him a sheepish look, “yeah?” 

“Well, okay, I don't regret that at all but we're both wearing helmets for the rest of the tour.” Keith grinned and Shiro felt himself shake with laughter. He had a helmet tossed his way, and they were back on the trail, making their way up to a high ridge which looked out over the canyon. Keith had pulled a helmet on as well, still a bit skittish after they had both done some stupid things without them on, but if this was the worst that happened, Shiro didn’t mind. 

They made it up to a campsite a few hours before sunset, carefully setting up two small tents and getting a fire going. Keith had hot dogs and various things that were easy to cook on sticks over the fire, or wrapped in foil in the coals. He made quick work of getting two ears of corn and some potatoes wrapped and in the flames, before he started to offer Shiro hot dogs he’d skewered, all while seated in a folding camp chair next to Shiro. 

Shiro helped as much as he could, but he burnt almost anything he touched, and as he lit a hot dog on fire, Keith suggested that maybe he be in charge of roasting and Shiro be in charge of opening buns for them. It was fun though, the two of them working together as the sky grew orange and red and purple around them. 

“Here.” Keith came back from the bikes with everything they needed to make s’mores and a little cooler which he offered to Shiro. Shiro took it, opening it up to find exactly four bottles of beer with a metal flask tucked between them. “Only customers who aren’t assholes get to have the booze.” 

Shiro laughed, setting the cooler down between their chairs as Keith settled all the s’mores items on a small table he had on his other side. “I’m glad I’m not one of the assholes.” 

“It helps that you’re also not a couple,” Keith said, “couples aren’t allowed to drink on these tours with me anymore.” 

“Oh yeah?” Shiro looked at each of the tents they’d set up, they weren’t exactly far apart, and Shiro was sure you could hear everything through them. “I think I can guess why.” 

Keith chuckled, confirming that Shiro’s theory was correct and cracked open two beers for them, tucking the tops back into the cooler before offering Shiro one. They clinked their bottles together, each of them sipping on a beer and trying to navigate making s’mores and holding beer bottles until they realize they each had a cup holder in their chair the whole time. 

“Well, that’s not the dumbest thing I’ve done on one of these tours.” Keith dropped his beer bottle into the cup holder on his chair and now deftly applied marshmallows to skewers, “are you going to burn these too? Or do you want to roast your own?” 

“What is the dumbest thing you’ve done on a tour?” Shiro’s curious, and then he pouted as Keith snickered at him. He held his hand out for a skewer though. “I like these burnt.” 

Keith handed the skewer over, going to make himself another as he hummed, “well, I think the dumbest was forgetting a fire starter and having to use a pieced together bow drill to get the fire going. Took about forty minutes.” 

“Oh wow.” Shiro carefully rolled his marshmallow over the first, trying not to light it on fire too quickly. “But you got it lit, that’s what’s important right?” 

“The two dudes didn’t seem any less annoyed about it, but yes I did.” Keith set a few graham crackers onto a paper plate and started to add chocolate to them. 

“Did you try to give them the alcohol to make them less annoyed?” Shiro asked. Keith chuckled and shook his head. 

“No, they were assholes,” Keith said, “One almost drove right off a cliff at some point. The only reason he didn’t is I have emergency brakes built into my bike that can control the others.” 

Shiro felt his eyes go wide, “really?”

“Yeah, people are dumb and lie about how much experience they have all the time,” Keith said, “I take a different route here now so I have more time to assess before we’re anywhere dangerous.” 

“Smart.” Shiro had to pick up his marshmallow and blow it out since he’d managed to light it on fire finally. Keith offered him graham crackers and chocolate at that point and helped him get the skewer out of his s’more before he started to roast his own marshmallow. 

They settled down, chatting and drinking. It turned out the flask had bourbon in it, and as they passed it back and forth, Shiro could feel the confidence and stupidity well inside of him. He was careful not to get too drunk so that he didn’t do anything dumb. 

Keith made it hard though, his eyes shined in the fire as he smiled, and he had a little flush on his cheeks from the booze. They’d both had one beer each, and maybe a shot and a half when Keith leaned closer to him, talking about working in the mechanic's shop in town. He apparently lived in the shack that Shiro had seen, which explained why he might not see too many movies. Still, it made Shiro wonder. 

“What was the last movie you worked on?” Keith asked. Shiro didn’t quite know how to answer, so he told the truth. 

“Have you heard of the White Lion series?” Shiro looked at Keith, he was curious, he wanted to know this as much as he wanted to kiss Keith at the moment. Keith narrowed his eyes and hummed, shaking his head. 

“No, I don’t think so?” Keith said, “I, to be honest. I don’t go to movies too often, This is a small town, and my ex works at the theater, and I just don’t care. I usually don’t see anything until my brother forces me to watch it after it’s already been out for a while.” 

Shiro blinked at Keith for a moment, and he couldn’t help the way he laughed, “that’s a good reason. Where’s your brother then? Somewhere not in the middle of nowhere?” 

“Yeah.” Keith laughed, “he lives back in California. The shack was my Dad’s, my biological Dad’s, but my brother is my foster brother.” 

“Oh okay,” Shiro said, “so you came back as soon as you could?” 

Keith nodded, a nostalgic smile on his face now, “it’s been a good place to run the business out of. Even if I don’t really have internet, I like the quiet.” 

“That must be nice, getting to be out here like this.” Shiro looked up at the sky, and honestly, for a moment, he thought about what it would be like to quit everything and live out there like Keith did. He wouldn’t trade his life for the world for many reasons, but he could see the appeal to this. 

“It is.” Keith relaxed into the arm of his chair, smiling at Shiro again in a way that made Shiro’s stomach flip. “Y’know, you’re the first person in a long time who’s gotten on this tour and treated me like a friend rather than a guide.” 

Shiro felt himself lean closer to Keith. “There might be a reason for that.” 

Keith, for just a moment, looked off-kilter, and then his teeth sunk into his lower lip and Shiro saw Keith’s eyes flutter down. Shiro smiled, meeting Keith’s eyes so he’d know he caught him and finally broke into the comfort that they were flirting, this was flirting for them and there was no tinge of weirdness about Shiro’s career for the first time in years. 

“Want to show me the reason?” Keith’s voice was low now, his eyes lidded and Shiro tugged naturally on the chair he was in to bring him close enough for a kiss. They met each other evenly, Keith’s lips felt soft and pliant against his own and as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, Keith let out the softest little moan that Shiro’s entire body lit on fire.

When they pulled away, the first words out of Keith’s mouth were, “I have condoms and lube in my tent.” 

“Your tent it is.” Shiro followed a smiling Keith into the small, two-person tent, the two of them promptly falling back into the sleeping bag he laid out. Keith had gotten Shiro on his back, carefully helping him peel off clothes once the tent door was shut. Shiro was completely content to let Keith sit in his lap and grind on him, his eyes lidded and his body still buzzing slightly from the alcohol. 

“You’re not too drunk, right? This is all right?” Keith asked, working Shiro’s pants off so they were both down to just their boxers. 

“I’m not too drunk, promise.” Shiro pulled Keith down into a kiss now, their clothed dicks pressed up against each other as Keith settled into his lap again. Keith groaned when Shiro rolled up against him, his shoulders shuddering for a moment as he stared down at Shiro in the dark of the tent. All they had for light was a dim lamp Keith had hanging in the top of the tent, just enough to make out each other’s faces and that was about it. 

“O-Okay,” Keith mumbled, pausing to grab the lube and the condoms from his bag, making stifled little noises as Shiro continued to roll his hips teasingly against Keith’s. “You’re making it very hard to focus.” 

“You’ve been making it hard to focus this entire trip,” Shiro said. It earned him a laugh, Keith setting the little bottle of lube and the condoms within reach before he dipped back down for another kiss. Shiro loved the way he could still taste chocolate and bourbon on Keith’s tongue, and that he almost forgot to take off his fingerless gloves, and that Keith made sweeter noises than he’d ever expected. 

“Shiro, please.” Keith’s lips were against his jaw now, so Shiro pulled him down to whisper in Keith’s ear. It made Keith shiver in a way that was delightful. 

“Do you want to fuck me or ride me?” Shiro reveled in the noise that Keith made, his hands finding purchase on Shiro’s shoulders. He hesitated though, his fingers freezing for a moment as he looked up at Shiro sheepishly. 

“I,” Keith paused, “I haven’t done this recently enough to confidently do either of those things.” 

Shiro blinked, his smile growing fond as he laughed lightly. Keith still looked bashful, but Shiro promptly grabbed his hips, holding onto him tightly as he rolled them over. “That’s okay, I’ve got you.” 

“God, I thought you were going to mock me.” Keith relaxed into the sleeping bag, humming as Shiro started to kiss down his neck. Shiro shook his head carefully. 

“I wouldn’t.” He paused to look up at Keith, “I get it, it’s been a while for me too.” 

Keith shivered, his eyes on Shiro’s for a moment and then he laughed lightly, falling back again, “I can’t imagine that.” 

“It’s true.” Shiro chuckled against Keith’s skin, earning him a little noise back as he started to work his lips down Keith’s ribs again. Keith leaned into every one of Shiro’s touches, picking up his hips when Shiro slipped his boxers down and carefully spread his legs open. There was a comfortable flush on Keith’s chest now, barely red in the warm yellow light of the lantern above them. 

Shiro licked his lips, remembering how desperate he’d been for this, for any sort of contact, and now as he ground his hips down on nothing, all he wanted was to make Keith feel good. If Shiro could get a glimpse of Keith’s face while Shiro made Keith cum, Shiro might not even need to be touched. Of course, Keith’s hand was gently running over his hair, encouraging him to hurry up as Shiro ran his tongue over his hip crease. 

To his surprise, before he even touched Keith’s dick with his mouth, his hand wrapped around the base nicely to hold it out of his way, pulsing against his palm, Keith pressed the bottle of lube into Shiro’s free hand. Keith must have been more impatient than he let on, at least, that was Shiro’s guess at this point. Shiro still ran his tongue along the side of Keith’s cock, earning him a soft groan of relief and then a sharp inhale when Shiro wrapped his lips around the head. 

Keith wasn’t exactly small, and Shiro hadn’t done this in a while, but it didn’t take much for Shiro to lean down, taking Keith in his entirety until his nose was pressed against the wiry hairs on Keith’s navel. The noise that came out of Keith’s mouth was heavenly and wrapped around Shiro’s name in a way that felt worshipful. Shiro could do this for hours, he knew that he didn’t have that, but he wanted to. God, he knew it was stupid, so stupid, but he wanted to see Keith after this. He didn’t want this to be just a fling. 

He came back up, letting Keith’s dick fall out of his mouth with a slick pop which had Keith trying to roll his hips up into nothing. Now that he was wet enough though, Shiro angled himself differently and started to bob, listening as Keith moaned and looked down at Shiro quickly. Shiro had the lube in his hands now, carefully getting it open without stopping anything he was doing with his mouth, making sure to rub some over Keith’s ass before he poured extra on his fingers. He knew Keith hadn’t done this in a while, and even if he couldn’t make it so that it didn’t hurt at all, Shiro wanted to be sure it was as comfortable as it could be for Keith. 

“Fuck, Shiro.” Keith’s voice sounded strained as Shiro sank himself all the way down on Keith’s cock again, feeling the head press roughly on the back of his throat. In the meantime, Shiro’s finger carefully pressed inside of Keith, just to the first knuckle, just to see. It went in easily, sliding all the way to the hilt as Keith struggled to keep his hips still. “How are you even real?” 

Shiro couldn’t help the little chuckle that came out of him as he pulled off Keith, looking up at him. Keith had thrown one arm over his eyes and the other was lying above his head, back arched off the sleeping bag as Shiro carefully slid the single digit in and out of Keith’s ass. The movement was smooth enough that Shiro could only guess Keith touched himself like this sometimes. He’d be completely tight otherwise. 

“Feel good?” Shiro asked, taking the arm Keith had on his eyes off him and pressing a few wet kissed on Keith’s fingers. It made Keith shiver again, his body relaxing slightly around Shiro’s finger.

“Y-Yeah.” Keith’s eyes shimmered in the low light of the lantern, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he stifled a moan for Shiro. Shiro responded by easily slipping another finger into Keith, which led to Keith keening and throwing his head back. 

“You really haven’t done this in a while?” Shiro teased, letting go of Keith’s hand and going back to wrap his mouth around the head of Keith’s cock, sucking on it gently. Keith moaned out right now, his hand gripping the sleeping bag instead of covering his face this time. 

“I have toys.” Keith admitted it without much shame, reasonably at this point, there wasn’t a ton of reason for him not to. “But I haven’t, not with another person.” 

Shiro chuckled around Keith’s cock, nodding slightly before going down on him again. He was being gentle though, careful not to bob too quickly or accidentally make Keith cum as much as Shiro wanted to. He still had two fingers inside of Keith, easily sliding in and out of him so he could make sure that he was more than ready for Shiro to fuck him when it came to that. 

“Does this feel better than the toy?” Shiro asked, curling his fingers carefully over Keith’s prostate, getting down on his elbows so he could mouth at the side of Keith’s cock without having to hold it up. Keith arched hard, his toes curling slightly as he reared back again and moaned louder than he had up until this point. 

“Yes, god, fuck.” Keith paused to take a deep breath, “Shiro, _please_.” 

Keith’s voice came out too pretty and it caught on every one of Shiro’s nerves just right. He was up in a flash, their lips pressed together as he shoved his fingers in just a bit deeper. Keith moaned into his mouth, on his elbows now to meet Shiro’s lips better as Shiro carefully worked another finger into Keith. He took it slowly, sucking on Keith’s tongue while he started to work all three fingers in and out of Keith. 

“Please.” Keith’s voice came in little gasps against Shiro’s mouth, falling back onto the sleeping bag and his lips falling into an open-mouthed pout. Shiro couldn’t help himself anymore, he slipped his fingers out, getting a disgruntled noise from Keith until he realized Shiro was taking his boxers off. 

At that point, Keith sat up and helped Shiro out of them, pushing them down his thighs and promptly cupping his hand around Shiro’s hardened cock. “Fuck,” Keith mumbled. 

To Shiro’s surprise though, he shifted, sitting up straighter and ran his tongue under the head, making Shiro hiss. Keith encouraged Shiro to sit up on his knees, leaving him about the perfect height to lean forward and catch Shiro’s cock in his mouth, bobbing his head down just a bit at a time until he could take the whole thing to the base. 

Shiro watched in amazement, he didn’t want to brag in any way, but his dick wasn’t exactly small, he hadn’t been with a ton of people who could take the whole thing in their mouth, but Keith did it like it was easy. His throat opened up, and Keith’s eyes glazed over, letting Shiro thrust his hips gently forward into Keith’s mouth. He could feel Keith’s tongue lathe over the underside, one hand on Shiro’s hip as Shiro took a moment to get some relief finally, rolling his hips and fucking Keith’s throat. 

He set his hand in Keith’s hair, pulling him back in a swift motion and moaning at him, “fuck Keith.” 

Keith just grinned at him, his lips glistening in the lantern light before he took one final bob on Shiro’s cock, taking the whole thing as his eyes fluttered closed again. Shiro moaned outright for him, his hand gently running over the back of Keith’s head, playing with the mess of dark hair as Keith pulled off him with a pop. 

Shiro let go of Keith long enough to roll a condom on and then he had the lube again, pressing Keith back into the sleeping bag with a bit of a thud. It still made Keith moan, his hips arching towards Shiro while he poured lube into his hand. He took a moment to fuck his fist, making sure between the mix of Keith spit and the lube he’d be plenty wet for this. Keith squirmed under him, his eyes alight and excited, waiting impatiently for Shiro. 

“Stay still.” Shiro chuckled, at the noise Keith made in response, his fingers dipping into Keith’s ass again to get the last of the lube off. It earned him a moan of his name, and as Shiro lined up, he grabbed tightly onto Keith’s hips to make sure he didn’t do this too quickly. Keith stopped squirming, keeping still for Shiro finally as he got up on one elbow, hooking a leg around Shiro’s waist and leaning up to kiss him again. 

Shiro caught his lips, carefully working the head of his dick against Keith’s ass until he was confident he could slide inside of him. When he pushed forward, a hand guiding his cock inside of Keith, he could hear the stifled gasp and moan that tore out of Keith’s throat. 

“Holy shit you’re big.” Keith groaned, arching his back again and trying to seat himself down on Shiro with all his strength, but Shiro managed to hold him still. Shiro was on fire though, it took a lot of self-control to slowly press until he hilted inside of Keith, a hiss escaping him as Keith promptly squeezed around him. “Please move.” 

“Not yet.” Shiro leaned down to catch Keith in another kiss, listening to him whimper as he struggled against Shiro’s grip. Keith was strong though, Shiro had to admit it was hard to keep him still, and suddenly all he could think about was getting to wrestle Keith sometime, the two of them fighting for dominance while they teased each other. He wanted to see Keith again after this, fuck him again, he wanted to make Keith feel this good every time he saw him. 

“Shiro, I swear to god.” Keith groaned his arms loose around Shiro’s shoulders as he kissed at Shiro’s neck, “I’m not made of glass, move please.” 

Shiro chuckled, kissing at Keith’s jaw and jerking his hips forward gently, “is that what you wanted.” 

“Fuck, yes.” Keith sounded breathless, relaxing into the sleeping bag again as Shiro started to roll his hips, finding a good rhythm that made Keith nice and loud. Not that it seemed Keith was ever not nice and loud, but this seemed to get him the loudest, Shiro pounding into him at a pace that wouldn’t take either of them over the edge too quickly. He could feel Keith flutter around his cock, moaning sweetly every time Shiro hilted inside of him again. 

Shiro really couldn’t take Keith, his eyes sparkled, his lips hung open, and his tongue peeked out of his mouth any time Shiro leaned down to kiss him. He’d never met anyone who drove him this wild, and on top of all of that, he was muscular and unexpectedly strong, his legs drawing Shiro closer each time he pushed forward. Shiro was just trying to keep himself under control, Keith’s voice husky and desperate and suddenly begging for Shiro to go harder again. 

“Jesus.” Shiro mumbled against Keith’s jaw, one arm under Keith’s shoulder so he could drag him down each time he pushed forward. Keith had started to rock his hips in time with Shiro, drawing out Shiro’s desperate moans as he struggled to keep his composure. “You’re gonna make me cum if you keep doing that.” 

Keith’s hand clawed gently at the back of his head like he was trying to pull Shiro by his hair but it was too short. 

“Good,” Keith mumbled, “cum inside me.” 

“Fuck.” Shiro’s head was spinning, and he swore Keith was somehow moving faster at that point, his hands clinging desperately to Shiro’s shoulders. He sat up slightly, getting his hand between them, still a little bit slick with lube and wrapped it around Keith. It was enough to make Keith groan, his head falling back and his toes curling again. 

Shiro grabbed one of his calves, holding onto it tightly and smiling at the look of shock as he spread Keith’s legs open. He could move a bit faster now, his fist working Keith’s throbbing cock in time with his hips. Keith couldn’t move now, but he somehow got louder and sweeter sounding. He moaned Shiro’s name, his back arching off the ground roughly as Shiro continued to pound into him. It didn’t take much more for Keith to cum, strings of white painting his stomach and chest as he moaned Shiro’s name. 

He kept his hand moving, stroking Keith through his orgasm as Shiro continued to fuck him roughly. It really didn’t take Shiro much more to be moaning just as sweetly back at Keith, burying his cock as deep in Keith as Shiro could get it, groaning as he felt it pulsing inside of Keith. 

The two of them stayed perfectly still like that for a moment, their skin slick with sweat and their eyes locked for just a minute. Keith tugged Shiro down into a kiss just as Shiro pulled out, and the two of them set about cleaning up. 

“Is it okay if I stay in here with your tonight?” Shiro mumbled, his lips against Keith’s bare shoulder once they had disposed of a few things and Keith had scattered the fire a bit. 

“Yeah, I want you to.” Keith caught Shiro in a chaste kiss once he’d turned the lantern off. Shiro settled on the sleeping bag in his boxers, Keith curling against his chest, humming softly as he settled into the single pillow they had to share. It felt good though, holding onto someone again. Shiro needed to see Keith again.


	2. Chapter 2

Keith woke with Shiro curled around him and with the knowledge that he’d definitely fucked a customer and now the sun was coming up. He couldn’t take it back at this point, he just really hoped that Shiro didn’t think it was weird, Shiro seemed into it though. Keith just hoped he hadn’t felt trapped. 

He managed to escape Shiro’s hold without waking him, taking a moment to look him over, his silvered hair which had thick, black roots and his chiseled jawline. Shiro honestly sort of looked like he’d walked off the front of a catalogue and into Keith’s life in a way that made Keith worry there had to be something amiss. If he wanted to see Shiro again, would he ever really get the chance or would it turn out this ridiculously hot guy was married? Both were very viable options in Keith’s head.

Shiro didn’t have a tan line from a ring though, and he seemed to be open and completely genuine with Keith. Keith probably didn’t need to worry as much as he was, so he focused himself on making breakfast, rather than thinking about whether Shiro might be hiding something from him. 

Plus, he really needed to figure out how the hell he was going to manage to ride his hoverbike after Shiro wrecked him the night before. He wasn’t quite limping or anything, but Keith certainly was a little sore, in a comfortable, exciting way. Keith chewed on his lip, using the coals in the fire to start it back up, placing a wire rack over it and then setting a skillet on top of that. Scrambled eggs and bacon went quick as Shiro stumbled out of Keith’s tent in his boxers and then into his own. It looked like he’d managed to grab most of his own clothes, so Keith just kind of chuckled. 

Shiro joined him a few minutes later in clean clothes with a sunscreen stick in his hand. He rubbed that down on his face and arms as he settled next to Keith at the fire again. He smiled at him, offering Keith the sunscreen just as the sun started to feel a bit too hot on Keith’s skin. 

“Are you good?” Keith asked, rubbing the sunscreen on his own face and arms. He’d already given Shiro a plate of food and a bottle of water, so he nodded as he ate. 

“I’m good, yeah.” Shiro looked pensive though, his eyes locked on the fire and his eating a bit slower than the night before. Keith just hoped it wasn’t a bad thing. He gave the sunscreen back to Shiro, and then they quickly packed everything up. 

From there, it was just a few hours driving in the desert back to Keith’s shack, the anxiety settling in again. Shiro was sort of quiet, contemplative, but so quiet it was making him worry. Shiro had been so open and excited the day before, now Keith couldn’t help but think he’d messed something up. 

Shiro helped him get the bikes wrapped up in tarps again, his smile coming back a little bit now that they were waiting for Shiro’s ride. Keith couldn’t help the fluttering in his stomach any time Shiro’s gray eyes trained on him. 

They had gotten back early though, Shiro still had a bit before the car came to get him and when Shiro turned his phone back on, he probably got fifty or more notifications in a matter of seconds. “Jeez, that’s a lot.” 

Shiro chuckled, “can you see why I turned it off for the trip?” 

“Yeah.” Keith smiled, and for a moment, things felt awkward. Shiro looked at Keith, and then down at his phone in short glances. 

“Hey, uhm,” Shiro said, “about last night.” 

Keith felt his stomach ice over, “uh, yeah, sorry if that was, if it was weird. That’s not something I normally do with—”

“No, no.” Shiro cut him off, “it’s okay. Uhm, I was just wondering if maybe I could get your number? I’d like to see you again.” 

Keith’s face burned like the afternoon sun was on him, his stomach fluttering, and honestly, Shiro looked so cute. He was bashful and sweet, despite how attractive Shiro was, he looked earnestly nervous that Keith would say no. 

“Yeah.” Keith’s voice came out a bit hoarse, but Shiro perked up immediately. “I mean, yes, I’d like to see you again too.” 

“Really?” Shiro shook his head slightly, “I mean, great, uhm. Here, just, enter your number.” 

Keith chuckled quietly, taking Shiro’s phone and plugging his number so Shiro could send him a text. Shiro then smiled and pressed a chaste kiss on Keith’s lips which made Keith’s chest feel tight. They talked for a bit, just general chit chat until Shiro’s car showed up. It didn’t take long for Keith to realize that it was the same guy picking Shiro up that had dropped him off, but it wasn’t that weird for someone to have a friend do something like that, was it? 

He let it go again, waving at Shiro before Keith bolted back inside. As soon as he had splashed some cold water on his face, he grabbed his phone and stood in the two-foot square he’d taped to the floor to mark the spot where he could get cell signal, and while he got a few notifications from his mom, he didn’t get nearly as many as Shiro had gotten. 

For now though, he did the first thing his panicked brain could think of, which was text Lance, his foster brother who was the person he, for whatever reason, always went to for this kind of advice. 

“ _SOS. Slept with a customer last night and I think he asked me out. What do I do?_ ” Keith typed it out and stood still until it had sent, and then waited to see if Lance was responding before he moved. Of course, Lance pretty much instantly called him. 

“You did what now?” Lance’s voice wasn’t haughty or anything, but it was tinged with disbelief. 

“I, he was _really_ attractive, and flirting with me.” Keith sat himself on the floor of his shack in the middle of the tape, “and one thing just led to another and then we were in my tent.” 

“Wait, this is someone you had on the tour?” Lance asked. 

“Yes.” Keith chewed on his nails a bit, his gloves pressing on his chin in a familiar way that calmed him down. 

“Damn Keith, good job, I’m actually kind of proud of you. You’re usually such a disaster you can’t even manage to get someone on a date.” Lance laughed when Keith promptly hissed that he was rude. Lance wasn’t wrong, but he shouldn’t say it. “Sorry, sorry. But seriously, I don’t think you did anything wrong. If you like him go see him again? Did you get his number?” 

“Yeah,” Keith said, “but, I just. I don’t know. I guess he wouldn’t have asked me to see him again if he was married or something.” 

“ _Married_?” Lance sounded bewildered, “what the fuck makes you say that?” 

“Okay, sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.” Keith stammered and back tracked slightly, “but, uhm, I don’t know. Something about him, I just… He was so good looking, how could he _not_ be taken? Why would he be interested in me?” 

“Keith, buddy.” Lance’s voice actually softened, “listen, I _know_ you had that whole thing with James where it turned out that he was seeing you and that other girl at the same time, but don’t worry, you’re worth more than that.” 

Keith groaned, he hated when Lance treated him like a younger brother. “I know, I know. But something did seem slightly off. Like he wasn’t telling me the whole truth.” 

“It could be anything Keith,” Lance said, “hell he could have just come off a bad break up. There’s nothing wrong with that.” 

“Yeah.” Keith sighed. “You know, you’re right. I’m probably overthinking it because of what happened with James.” 

“It could be.” Lance hummed softly, “listen, I can talk to you more after I get home. Leave your phone in the spot where it’ll actually connect so I can call you back.” 

Keith nodded, “okay. Tell mom I say hi if you see her.” 

“I will.” Lance paused, “you should call her more. I know things have been a little weird since Krolia showed up, but she still loves you. Foster family or not, we’re still your family Keith.” 

“I know, I know.” Keith smiled a bit. “I can have two unrelated moms, that’s what my therapist keeps saying.” 

Lance laughed, “yes you can. Besides, Krolia seems like she wants to get to know us. Mom’ll come around to her. She’s just afraid of you getting hurt.” 

“Yeah, okay, enough of the guilt trip.” Keith groaned, “I’ll call mom. _Our_ mom, and my biological mother.” 

“Good. Talk to you later Keith.” Lance hung up and Keith carefully stood, setting his phone down in the square on the floor with the volume on as high as he could get it before he started in on doing some house work he’d really needed to get done. He did dishes, cleaned his kitchen, paused to talk to Lance again, and then called both of his moms. 

When he got off the phone, he had a text from Shiro, which made his heart skip a beat. It wasn’t anything super special, Shiro just let him know he’d gotten back to LA all right. Though, it made him pause and wonder if his friend had just come with to drive him to the shack and pick him up, which seemed odd. Maybe, Keith almost stopped himself but he let the thought go all the way through, maybe what Shiro was hiding was his career. 

He did seem mildly too attractive for just an audio engineer. Maybe he was a powerful producer or something? He’d certainly seemed smart enough to be one. He didn’t understand why that was something he’d hide from Keith, but it did calm Keith’s thoughts on the subject. If Shiro was just hiding something mundane he was embarrassed about, then Keith couldn’t be too angry, could he?

Either way, he responded quickly to Shiro, and took his phone with him into his bedroom, setting it on the nightstand which had been strategically placed partially in the only other spot that got signal in the shack. The other half of that spot overlapped with Keith’s bed. He then made it a point to shower and settle into the sheets.

Keith smiled when he saw he had something else from Shiro, a mundane text, but it was enough to keep the conversation going for a while. He stayed up a little bit too late talking to Shiro, and when he woke up to get into town the next day, he knew he was going to be late for work. 

No one seemed to mind though, not even the old man from the town over waiting for him to change his oil. He always took the first appointment of the day, and got there thirty minutes early. Keith apologized, getting into his coveralls and digging into the old man’s car. He hardly drove it around, so the engine still looked almost new. He still got his oil changed lock clockwork though, and as Keith finished out the old man’s car, Axca got there to help with the line of cars now waiting. 

They were the only good shop for several hundred miles, and Keith was proud to work there honestly, even if sometimes the customers were fighty, or he thought about the fact that he’d maybe make more money only doing the tours, but he liked digging into all sorts of engines too much. 

Plus, when he was in town, he had signal, and he could spend some time socializing, which Lance always told him he needed. He was eating lunch and texting with Shiro when Axca turned up, grumbling about something someone had said to her that was shitty. Her parents owned the shop, but her and Keith basically ran it for them at this point. 

“Who are you talking to so much? Usually you hardly look at that phone.” She clearly was hoping for something better to talk about than work as she got herself a cup of coffee. “So little I wonder why you even bought it.” 

Keith felt his face get warm, and he set his phone down, “no one.” 

Axca’s eyebrows went up into her hair and she smirked, “no one? Guess I’ll have to ask Lance about it.” 

Keith shot her a dirty look and picked up his phone when it buzzed, reading over the text from Shiro. It sounded like he was at work too, and the more they spoke normally, the less Keith worried that he was hiding something from him. 

“How is Veronica?” Keith looked pointedly at Axca, and her face flared up, looking away from him. “Still haven’t said anything to her?” 

“Shush, who are you talking to?” Axca walked over to him, trying to look over his shoulder at his phone. Keith pulled it away quickly. 

“A guy,” Keith said, “it doesn’t matter.” 

Axca made a face, “where did you meet him? Didn’t you have a tour this weekend?” 

Keith turned into a guppy, his mouth opening and closing for a moment, but he couldn’t force anything out of his mouth. Axca’s eyes went wide and she smiled. 

“Keith you didn’t?” She promptly sat down at the table with him, “come on. You have to tell me how that happened. So I can tell Veronica, of course.” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“All right, all right.” Axca backed off. “You do look like a smitten kitten though. Glad you found someone who makes you feel like that.” 

Keith stammered a bit, “oh, uhm, thank you.” 

Axca smiled, “of course. Don’t do anything dumb.” 

She got up then, ruffling Keith’s hair and heading back into the shop as he watched her. For a moment, he wanted to run after her and give her a hug, Axca had always treated him like a younger brother after all, but it was always nice when she reminded him how much she really cared.

* * *

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* * *

Months went by fast when you were a ‘smitten kitten’ as Axca kept calling him. Keith and Shiro had gotten horribly close, and then suddenly it had been five months. Being far apart seemed to make the days go faster and slower at the same time, every time Shiro came to visit, it felt like a moment before he was gone again, and every time he left, it felt like years before he would be back. 

Keith didn’t horribly mind though, they were busy, and they talked all the time. Plus, Shiro always made the trek out to his little shack, and never once complained about the remote way that Keith lived. He’d show up, turn off his phone, and they’d spend a few days racing the hoverbikes and touching each other as much as they possibly could. They were always desperate for each other, passionate and willing to do just about anything to spend even a small amount of time together.

At some point, they switched to face timing nightly, and it was the first time in years that Keith felt the urge to have wifi again. He’d gone over his data limit for the month twice already, and he finally just gave up and made it unlimited. Now, he watched Shiro’s lips in the camera, his arm cradling his head as he thought about maybe moving into the little town near the shack. He could get an apartment, be closer to work, and still do tours on the weekend. It would be less of a trek for Shiro, who seemed to somehow always have money to fly to Vegas and rent a car to come out to Keith. It made Keith wonder sometimes, LA is expensive, he really hoped Shiro wasn’t putting himself in a bad place money-wise. 

“Hey, I have some good news.” Shiro’s voice is silky and warm, his eyes glowing slightly in the camera. The room behind him was dark, his smile lit up only by the glow of his phone as he held it out just enough for Keith to see his whole face.

Keith smiled, “what’s the news?” 

“I’m filming in Las Vegas next month.” Shiro chuckled slightly, and Keith guessed it was the excitement on his own face that caused it. “The schedule is really tight though, it’s the last few weeks of filming, so I won’t really be able to sneak away, but I’ll have about two weeks off afterwards. I have to be back in LA the second week, but I thought maybe—”

“Wait.” Keith perked up more, “before you keep going, can I meet you in Las Vegas for the week? I could take some time off from the shop, I’m sure Axca wouldn’t mind.” 

“I.” Shiro hesitated, seeming to think that over for a moment. “We could do that, yeah. Do you mind if I book the hotel room? That way I can just extend the stay on the room they give me for the shoot.” 

Keith nodded, already grinning. “Yeah, that’s fine. But I want to pay for it. If it’s going to cost money. You’re always coming out here, I feel bad.” 

“You don’t have to feel bad.” Shiro smiled, adjusting himself so he could lie on his pillow and lay his arm down as he looked at the camera. “But I get the feeling you’re going to be stubborn about this.” 

“I absolutely am.” Keith’s grin got far more smug, he loved that his boyfriend knew him this well, and he loved that he was going to get to spend more than a weekend with Shiro for once. “Though, I should say I don’t know anything about Vegas. So if you know good places to eat or things to do.” 

Shiro hummed softly, “it’s real presumptuous of you to think we will be leaving the hotel bed all week.” 

“Oh my god.” Keith could feel his face get hot, and Shiro chuckled in the sweet, low way he always did when he managed to make Keith blush. “I mean, you’re right, but you shouldn’t say it.” 

There was a bark of laughter from the phone, Shiro turning over for a moment and the phone camera trained on the dark ceiling as he did. Keith could feel the fondness well up in his chest, listening to Shiro laugh at his stupid joke as they laughed together 

“I’ll make sure to bring a lot of lube.” Shiro flipped back over, smiling at his phone brightly. 

“Should I bring the blindfold and handcuffs too? You seemed to like that a lot last time.” Keith smirked, and he watched Shiro’s skin flush quickly, trying to save face as the memory clearly came back to him. 

Shiro cleared his throat, “maybe. I have to go now though, we start early tomorrow.” 

“Okay.” Keith chuckled softly, watching as Shiro’s lips turned up in another sweet smile. “Goodnight Shiro, sleep well.” 

“Goodnight baby, you too.” Shiro waved at the phone as he hung up, grinning a bit wider when it made Keith snort and laugh, waving back. When he closed his phone and plugged it into the charger, Keith relaxed against the pillows and a smile crept onto face. He felt so stupid for just a moment, alone in his little bedroom, smiling over a boy calling him baby, but talking to Shiro always left him like this. Smitten kitten probably wasn’t a horribly incorrect name for how Keith felt, he’d have to thank Axca for it. 

Before he fell asleep, he texted Axca quickly and got a quick agreement about Keith being gone for a week. In fact, she congratulated him on taking his first vacation since he’d been full time at the shop. Keith hadn’t realized he had never taken one before. 

It didn’t take long for Keith to be counting down the days, talking to Shiro each night and happily chirping how many days they had left before saw each other again for him before they’d say goodnight. He felt horribly soft, and even as he felt himself get desperate for Shiro’s touch, he could only ever think about one thing he really wanted to do on this trip. 

He bit his tongue after each phone call, waited impatiently as he texted Shiro, and then the day he was leaving, he didn’t even bother to change out of his coveralls before he jumped on his bike to drive to Vegas. Keith was too keyed up, he never expected to make it there so quickly, but he arrived to the hotel almost a full forty minutes before he was supposed to. He didn’t think he’d find himself standing in the lobby, looking around as he texted Shiro, waiting and waiting with no response. His head started to lock up, all his energy quickly turning nervous as he bobbed his leg. 

Shiro was probably still working, that’s what he told himself, over and over as he waited for a response. In a city he’d never been in, in a hotel he’d never seen, in a hotel he hadn’t even booked. Keith felt it, the pang of worry, his dirty coveralls and the bag over his shoulder. Thirty minutes, still no answer from Shiro, and now he was more than worried. 

Five minutes before they were supposed to meet, Shiro appeared from the back of the lobby, duffle bag over his shoulder and a baseball cap low on his head as if he was trying to cover his face. He didn't seem to notice Keith right away, heading to the desk and exchanging a few words with the worker before taking a booklet from her. Keith chewed on his lip, watching the woman swoon and falter over her words, but that didn't bother him. Shiro had wanted to book the room so he wouldn't have to switch hotels, but now he had a bag on his shoulder and looked like he had only just gotten there. Why would he lie? 

Keith didn't have time to think about it further, Shiro saw him now, his eyes getting big and bright. He almost ran over to Keith, his grin going boyish and wide. 

"Keith!" He hugged Keith as soon as he stood up, which made Keith melt a little. "I didn't expect you to beat me. How long have you been here?"

"Uh, only about thirty minutes." Keith suddenly felt sheepish, there were people in the lobby staring at them. People were staring intently. 

Shiro gaped, "thirty minutes? Why didn't you text me?" 

He was already pulling his phone out to like at it, and as Keith confirmed that he did text Shiro, Shiro pressed his lips into a tight line. He showed it to Keith, turning the black screen to show him it was dead. 

"Sorry." Shiro frowned and Keith couldn't help but laugh quietly. He shook his head, smiling at Shiro as the relief crept up into his throat. 

"It's okay. Why did you end up switching hotels?" Keith asked. Shiro blinked at him for a moment, so Keith gestured at the bag on his arm. "You have your bag, and you got keys from the desk." 

"Oh." Shiro smiled bashfully, "you're observant. I might have used some points I had with the hotel custom to upgrade us to a better room than the one I’d been in. But I had to take my bag since the room wouldn't be ready until I came back from work." 

Keith felt his stupidity and sadness well up in his stomach. He really shouldn't have ever thought Shiro would lie to him, and he felt the sudden sadness that James had turned Keith into this. That he was going to constantly worry about his boyfriend, who did nothing wrong, cheating. He should know better, he should know to trust Shiro, but it was so hard for him to trust anyone. 

"Hey." Shiro's voice was gentle, his hand cupping Keith's cheek. "Hey, babe are you okay?" 

Keith promptly bottled everything up, forcing it down like he always did and nodded. "Fine, sorry. Let's go up to the room." 

Shiro nodded, taking Keith's hand and leading him to the elevator. He waited until they were safely in the small suite, a nice sofa with a TV in front of it that Keith dumped his things on, and a big king bed with clean white sheets to say anything else. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Shiro stopped Keith while he dug through his suitcase, encouraging him to look at Shiro. Keith grimaced and shook his head just a bit. 

"I'm fine, I'm sorry, I just…" Keith looked up at Shiro's worried pout, his furrowed brow, his wonderful gray eyes. He hadn't even realized Keith had vaguely accused him of something, and it was all making his mind race. "You're not married or something, right?" 

Shiro blinked at him for a moment, and while he looked confused, he slowly started to answer with an awkward laugh. "W-Well no. Not anymore at least. The divorce was finalized sometime last year." 

"Oh." Keith hadn't expected that, and he blinked back at Shiro's raw honesty for just a moment and tried to comprehend what he'd just walked himself into. He didn't care that Shiro had been married once before, but the way he he clammed up probably made Shiro think he did care. 

"Is this cause I always come to see you and now we're meeting at a hotel?" Shiro asked, his shoulders slumping. He suddenly looked so incredibly anxious and hurt, Keith was an ass. "Or is it something else?"

Keith shook his head, "no, I'm. I'm sorry, I let my head get around it too much. It wasn't anything you did at all." 

"No, it's." Shiro paused and looked at the wall for a moment, "I don't blame you. It's really okay, I always come to your house, and I'm always in a different spot when we face time. This is, kind of fair actually. I'm sorry, but I do promise you're the only person I'm seeing right now." 

Keith watched as Shiro rubbed his left hand strangely, his finger gently gliding over the spot where he probably used to wear a ring. No tan line there, just a worried gesture from the phantom feeling. 

"Yeah, that is part of the reason." Keith admitted, but he smiled at Shiro softer now. He just looked so nervous, and Keith wanted to reassure Shiro because Keith had messed up. At least in his opinion it was Keith's fault and not Shiro's. "It did, but really, it's okay Shiro. I trust you and I don't mind at all that you've been married before. I'm sorry, I let my head get… ahead of itself." 

Shiro smiled back at him, cupping his cheek again and pressing a kiss to Keith's forehead. "So we're okay." 

Keith nodded. "We're okay, and we're both probably hungry. Did you want to get dinner?" 

“I’m so tired.” Shiro groaned softly, leaning into Keith and putting all his bulk on him so that Keith would desperately scramble to hold him up. “I just want to get straight into bed.” 

“Then why don’t we order in?” Keith chuckled, carefully trying to prop Shiro back up on his feet. “Besides I really need to shower.”

Shiro promptly switched from leaning on him to pulling Keith in close, kissing his neck and making himself even harder to ignore. “You smell so nice though.” 

“I smell like grease and sweat,” Keith said, “and that awful soap we have at the shop to get the grease off.”

“And you look so good in the leather and the coveralls.” Shiro managed to get Keith pinned with his legs against the arm of the couch, his lips trailing over the skin of Keith’s collar bone. 

“I’m certain I’ll look good in clean clothes too.” Keith smirked when Shiro huffed against his chest, his tongue lathing over Keith’s skin in a way that made his hair stand on-end. Shiro’s hands found the sleeves of Keith’s coveralls, untying them easily and trailing kisses down Keith’s front.  
“Do you really want me to stop so you can shower?” Shiro knelt down in front of Keith, his eyes intent. Keith hadn’t really planned on stopping him from the start, his hand sliding into Shiro’s hair while he planted kisses on Keith’s navel. “It’s been so long, I don’t want to wait.” 

Keith already thought he might break, his breath hitching slightly as Shiro smirked at him, his hands dipping into Keith’s boxers. “God, Shiro. You're unreal.” 

“Missed you.” Shiro’s hands found Keith’s dick, sliding his boxers out of the way and stroking his half-hard cock only pausing to push Keith's tank top up on his stomach. Keith dragged his nails over Shiro's scalp the way Keith knew Shiro liked and hissed as Shiro carefully wrapped his hand around Keith’s cock, stroking him as Shiro’s eyes locked on his face. 

"Fuck." Keith was already breathless, watching Shiro easily wrap his lips around the head of Keith’s cock, feeling Shiro’s tongue wet it before he bobbed all the way down to the base. Shiro always did this, took Keith in one, swift motion. Keith thought Shiro had to get off on look on Keith's face or something, otherwise Shiro wouldn't do it nearly as often as he did. Or maybe it was the gasp that always came out of Keith, or the whiney noise he made after that, or maybe Shiro just really loved sucking cock.

Keith certainly wasn't complaining if it meant he got to see Shiro like this all the time. On his knees, jaw slack, his eyes fluttering shut, his hand hands on Keith's thighs, Keith could watch him do this every day off the week if that was an option. Maybe that was something he should suggest sometime. 

For now, his knees gave out slightly as Shiro pulled back, his mouth open around the tip of Keith's cock, inviting Keith in with a deliriously happy look on his face. Keith bit down on his lip hard, his eyes locked on Shiro's as Keith gently rocked his hips forward, the head of his cock dragging nicely on Shiro's outstretched tongue. Shiro moaned softly, his jaw relaxing as he let Keith thrust his hips into Shiro's open mouth. His lips wet and soft supple. 

"Holy shit." Keith, awe inspired and quick to readjust his hand in Shiro's hair so Keith could pull Shiro forward as Keith pressed his cock down Shiro's throat. He watched Shiro's eyes water, Keith setting an easy pace so he wouldn't hurt him, but at some point, Shiro pushed further, taking more of Keith in Shiro, practically purring as he made it a point to let Keith know he could go harder. Keith kept his eyes on Shiro's face, watching for any sign he needed to stop, his hand pressed Shiro's head down hard. But nothing made Shiro's resolve break, he barely stopped to breathe even when Keith started to full on thrust into Shiro’s mouth. "Fuck, fuck I'm—."

Shiro pulled off Keith with a pop despite Keith's desperate attempt to keep Shiro down. Keith groaned, watching as Shiro smirked at him, his fingers stroking Keith's wet cock as Keith tried to roll his hips forward and get Shiro's warm mouth back. "Not yet." 

"I hate you." Keith grumbled as his entire body jittered from the edge. His head fell back because he couldn't look at the confident smirk on Shiro's face. Especially not while Shiro chuckled the way he did and wrapped his hand around the base of Keith’s cock. Keith took a deep breath, his eyes finding Shiro's again. 

"What do you baby?" Keith's brain was with him again, looking down at Shiro who promptly squirmed where he sat on the ground. Keith hooked his hand under Shiro's chin, he knew him well enough to know edging Keith was his way of getting Keith to give him something he wanted. "You look like you're hoping we do something particular."

"Want to ride you." Shiro said it without hesitation, his lips on the shaft of Keith's cock, sucking lightly on the side as he watched Keith's reaction with puppy eyes.

Keith felt the heat in his navel coil as Shiro said it, his mouth hanging open and words losing him for a moment. It only got worse when Shiro started gently circling the head of his cock with his soft lips, letting them glide wet and warm against then sensitive head. "Bed." 

He didn't need to say it twice, Shiro got to his feet and practically tossed Keith down on the bed once he had his coveralls and boxers completely off. Keith had a moment laying on the bed to tug his tank top off as Shiro grabbed the lube, and when he straddled Keith's lap, Keith made quick work of getting Shiro’s shirt off, followed by his pants. Shiro kissed Keith hard as Keith tugged at Shiro’s boxers, running his hand over the bulge of Shiro's cock. He couldn't help but shiver, thinking about getting it later, as embarrassing as it was for Keith to even think about, Shiro had a nice dick. 

"Don't judge me." Shiro said suddenly. Keith looked up at him, earnest in his confusion until Shiro got his boxers off and guided. His hand dipped behind his ass and with just a little effort he pulled a black plug about the same width as Keith out while Keith gaped at him like a guppy. 

“D-Did you have that in all day?” Keith’s attention took a moment to move from the plug Shiro was gingerly trying to set on the nightstand without getting lube everywhere. Shiro chuckled, a sheepish look on his face. 

“No, uh.” He smiled, glancing at Keith as he got back into Keith’s lap. “That was kind of reason I was only here five minutes before I was supposed to meet you. I had about an hour between work and getting here.” 

Keith blinked, all of the wheels turning in his head. Shiro not only had not been doing anything with anyone else or trying to hide something, he had also been in a bathroom preparing himself to ride Keith. He had to take a breath, Keith’s desperation ticking up between the image of Shiro fingering himself and working a plug into his ass for Keith and Shiro edging him just before this. 

“Oh my god.” Keith situated himself on the bed, leaning against the headboard and trying to right all of the desperation and gather it back into what they were doing. “God, you did that just for me?” 

Shiro went full puppy faster than Keith had ever seen him go, his eyes getting bright and his demeanor bashful. It was hard to imagine that Shiro sometimes wanted this, and then sometimes he held Keith face first on the bed by the hair so he could split Keith open on his cock. Either way, all the heat dropped into Keith's stomach as Shiro nodded and moaned, leaning into Keith's hand as he ran it through Shiro's hair and encouraged him to get back into Keith's lap. 

"Keith, come on." Shiro's voice edged into frustration as Keith stopped Shiro so he couldn't sink down on his cock just yet. Chuckling, Keith pulled Shiro into a kiss, his hand wrapping around their dicks so he could listen to Shiro shiver. He'd been hard almost this whole time, Keith could tell just by looking at him, and now that Keith had the chance, he wanted to tease him back. 

"Give me the lube." Keith smiled against Shiro's mouth, taking the bottle from Shiro's hand and pouring a bit into his own. He coaxed Shiro into another kiss, wrapping his hand around his own cock. Shiro squirmed as Keith fucked his own fist, the lube making obscene, wet noises. When the kiss started to grow especially desperate, Shiro licking into Keith's mouth like he wanted to tongue fuck Keith's lips, Keith let go of his cock. Offering Shiro the lube back, he watched Shiro excitedly shift forward in his lap, feeling the head of his cock rubbing against Keith's. "take over for me?" 

"Fuck, I hate you." Shiro whined, openly now, realizing that Keith wasn't going to fuck him just yet. His nose bumped Keith's when he chuckled, his grin growing sly. Shiro still obediently poured a bit more lube into his hand, first reaching to wrap it around both of them. 

"No, just me," Keith said. The groan it earned from Shiro was beyond satisfying, his cock visibly twitching as he moved to wrap his hand around just Keith's, enveloping it easily. Keith loved Shiro's hands, they were big and so soft like he had them manicured regularly, and honestly Keith had let Shiro fuck his mouth with them on more than one occasion. Now wasn't the time for that distraction though. 

"Don't worry," Keith chuckled against Shiro's collar bone, leaning forward so he could get his clean hand on Shiro's ass and his lubed hand could dip between his cheeks, "I've got you baby." 

Shiro flipped from whiney to content the moment Keith's fingers slipped inside of him. He only remembered to start moving his own hand when Keith reminded him, and when Shiro did, it was stuttered and desperate. It was really only to keep Keith hard anyway, so he didn't really care if it wasn't a great hand job. 

Instead, he focused on sinking his fingers into Shiro, pulling him forward so that Shiro had to brace one hand on the headboard as Keith carefully started to play with Shiro's already wet hole. Keith shivered at the way two fingers easily sank into Shiro's ass without any resistance, even after a month or so of not seeing each other, Shiro had clearly kept himself pliant and ready. They both did it for each other, so Keith wasn't entirely surprised, but thinking about it made him groan against Shiro's shoulder. He mouthed at Shiro's skin as he threaded his long fingers into Shiro, just toying with him, not giving him enough to stretch but enough to make him whine for more.

“Keith.” It didn’t take Shiro long to start whining desperately, Keith’s fingers rolling gently over his prostate, just teasing for now. “Please, come on. I’ve been waiting for you all day.” 

Keith chuckled against Shiro’s skin, running his tongue over Shiro’s collar bone, sucking a hickey there. “Really?” 

“Yes.” Shiro huffed, trying to jerk his hips forward against nothing. “I was so distracted at work, and I haven’t seen you in so long.” 

“It’s only been a couple weeks.” Keith slipped his fingers out of Shiro, listening to him gasp and feeling him shudder as Keith trailed his fingers along Shiro’s well cut waist. Shiro’s excitement ticked up again, shifting forward as Keith drew him in. 

“A month.” Shiro’s voice grew further strained, letting Keith reposition him in his lap, “and I’ve been too busy.” 

Keith lined himself up with Shiro, just rubbing the head of his cock against Shiro’s hole and humming, “to even take care of yourself?” 

He didn’t stop Shiro from immediately starting to sink down on his cock this time, his mouth dropping open in a moan as he watched Shiro nod. Keith bit his lip hard, feeling only a little bad he’d teased Shiro so much now knowing Shiro hadn’t even had much time to himself lately. At the same time, the look of pure elation on Shiro’s face as he settled into Keith’s lap was absolutely worth it. 

Keith had enough restraint to grab Shiro’s hips, keeping him from moving too quickly. Even if Shiro had opened himself up, Keith didn’t want him to get hurt, and he also had a very important question to ask before they moved any further with this. 

“Do you want to ride me? Or do you want me to fuck you?” Keith’s eyes found Shiro’s, watching Shiro’s eyelashes flutter as he tried to roll his hips as much as he could with Keith holding him. 

“Ride you.” Shiro’s hand found Keith’s shoulder, pressing him back into the headboard now, “please.” 

Keith chuckled, pulling Shiro into a quick kiss and nodded, “make me feel good baby.” 

Shiro gasped, his hips ticking up just a bit while Keith settled his hands on Shiro’s waist, encouraging him to move. Keith chewed on his lower lip, watching as Shiro picked himself up, his strong thighs moving easily and working his way up to bouncing on Keith’s cock. The noises that came out of Shiro’s mouth were divine, loud and hungry as he fucked himself down on Keith’s dick.

Keith’s hands eventually found Shiro’s beautiful ass, helping him move as Keith pressed his hips up each time Shiro fell back down on his cock. The warmth coiled in his stomach again, it didn’t take long considering Shiro had gotten him so desperately close just before this. For a moment, he was torn between trying to drag this out and making it hard and fast. 

“God, Keith.” Shiro moaned and ran his hands through Keith’s hair, leaning a bit closer to him. That answered Keith’s question for him, Keith grabbing Shiro’s ass a bit harder and pulling him closer. Keith set his feet down flat on the bed, holding Shiro still for just a moment, making Shiro groan and whine at Keith again. It didn’t last long, the moment that Keith bucked up into Shiro, he was right back to moaning obscenely. 

Keith kept his hips moving, finding a good pace as Shiro braced himself on the headboard. When Keith wrapped his hand around the base of Shiro’s cock, all he got in response was a desperate moan, Shiro’s hips ticking up into his hand. Keith smiled, drawing Shiro in for another heated kiss as their movements started to sync up, Shiro gripping his shoulders now. Shiro’s cock throbbed in Keith’s hand, his lips moving to Keith’s ear, firmly planting there so he could pant and moan where Keith would definitely hear it. 

By some miracle, Shiro came first, his hips stuttering and his whole body fluttering around Keith, cum painting Keith’s chest and stomach. Keith nearly blacked out, his eye rolling back in his head as Shiro’s orgasm made his ass shutter and clench around Keith’s cock, his head smacking on the headboard hard enough that it hurt as he finally let himself tip over the edge. 

Keith moaned, turning his head towards Shiro so he could make eye contact, loving the heat it always brought to Shiro’s face. When they stilled, covered in sweat and panting, Shiro nestled his head in Keith’s neck, leaning on him as he carefully pulled out. He didn’t leave Keith’s lap just yet, his warm arms wrapping around Keith’s shoulders as he pressed a kiss on Shiro’s cheek. 

“I really did miss you.” Shiro’s voice was just a low hum, soft like he had maybe wanted to say more, but he just left it at that. Keith smiled against Shiro’s shoulder, planting a small kiss on it. 

“I missed you too.” He looked up at Shiro, “but I _really_ need a shower now.” 

“Me too.” Shiro chuckled, pressing kisses along Keith's jaw. "There's a big shower and a tub. We could go together." 

Keith started to get up once Shiro got off him, grabbing a tissue to wipe himself off at least a little. "That sounds nice. Probably better than anytime we've tried to fit into my shower." 

"I think we just need to accept that we don't fit into that shower." Shiro flipped the tub on first and then went to get the shower going so they could rinse off, smiling at Keith as they both chuckled. 

"We're still going to try every time you're over," Keith said, "actually, to be honest, I've been thinking of moving out of the shack, so maybe it won't be as much of a problem anymore." 

"Really?" Shiro looked shocked, or maybe a little bit sad, "just moving out, not selling it?" 

Keith nodded, following Shiro into the shower once the water was warm. "I could never sell it. But maybe it's time to accept my mom is right and that I should love closer to the shop. Especially since it would be a much shorter drive for you if I did."

"Well." Shiro paused. "Do what you think is best, but don't move for me, okay? I like the shack."

"Okay." Keith smiled, looking down at the tiles as the water washed over his head. "But it would be nice to have a shower that we both fit in." 

"Yeah it would. You're right." Shiro ran his hand over Keith's head, smoothing his hair back so Keith would look up at him. His smile was gentle and sweet, the softness that Keith loved so much greeting him as he met Shiro’s eyes. "I love you Keith." 

Keith's entire body felt warm, warmer than the water rolling off him, but not too warm. He felt warm and right, looking up into Shiro's gray eyes and letting Shiro pull Keith close as Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist. 

"I love you too." Keith's stomach fluttered when Shiro smiled, leaning up to meet the kiss as they pressed close in the warm water. 

They laid in the bath until the water went cold, Keith leaning back on Shiro's chest as Keith chattered about work. Shiro braided parts of Keith's hair, poorly, kissing at Keith's skin and humming responses to Keith's car stories. When they got out, they ordered a pizza, curling up on the couch to watch some movie Keith had never even heard of and then stayed there, talking after it was done, both of their phones dead. 

"We should go to bed." Shiro said it about 2:00 AM, when they were both blearily trying to stay awake on the couch. Keith just groaned, nodding as he took a deep breath and got up. He offered Shiro his hand, pulling him up and giggling when Shiro naturally tugged Keith into a warm hug. 

He settled on Shiro's chest once they were both in bed, relaxing against his skin. His eyes trained on Shiro’s face, looking over his jaw and clean features. Keith really loved Shiro, he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten this way, but he did. 

"Hey, I have a random question." Keith’s eyes scanned over the very edge of Shiro’s hair, looking over the black roots and reaching out to run his fingers over them. He didn’t have roots in the front though, the silky, white bangs that hung in Shiro’s face at the moment looked almost natural. 

Shiro hummed in an agreeable way, his eyes already closed. Keith smiled, looking up at him. 

"Why do you dye your hair silver?" Keith glanced at the roots of Shiro's hair, it was well done, there wasn't any damage, but Keith still wanted to know. Shiro's eyes opened briefly and Keith could feel him go stiff. 

"I don't really have a reason." Shiro looked embarrassed, running a hand through his hair and he looked back at Keith, weary and tired. He grabbed the very front of his hair, showing Keith his bangs. "But to be honest this part of my hair is always white no matter what I do to it." 

Keith shifted to sit up, pressing a kiss on Shiro's forehead since he clearly stepped on something that Shiro was sensitive about. "It looks good on you. I was just curious." 

Shiro chuckled softly, pausing Keith to pull him into another sweet kiss before letting Keith settle back into the bed. He hummed another 'I love you' into Keith's hair and Keith purred one back at him. They fell asleep tangled together, talking softly and occasionally waking to readjust before falling right back asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

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	4. Chapter 4

Shiro woke to the sound of Keith opening the door for a server with a room service cart. Keith, thank god for Shiro, stepped forward to give the server a tip and took the tray, not letting the server inside at all before he closed the door with his foot. He definitely wouldn’t have wanted to explain if the server happened to recognize him, or worse, freak out or ask for a photo. The thought just made him shiver in fear. 

“Morning.” Keith’s voice was still hoarse from sleep, but he had shorts and a shirt on and he’d clearly been up long enough to order room service. When Shiro sat up, Keith leaned down to kiss the side of his head and Shiro just hummed nicely in response. 

“Morning baby.” Shiro smiled when Keith’s face lit up, his demeanor getting sheepish for just a moment. He loved the way that Keith always reacted like an excited teenager when Shiro called him pet names. It made Shiro feel like a kid again in a good way, like he always had when dating before he’d started acting. 

“I ordered food.” Keith pressed a kiss on Shiro’s lips, a sweet smile on his face that Keith seemed to reserve only for small moments like this. 

“I see that, thank you.” Shiro sat up, stretching his arms over his head. “You could have woken me.” 

Keith shrugged, “I know what you like, and you looked so peaceful.” 

Shiro smiled, watching as Keith went to the tray he’d set on the coffee table. He’d cleared the pizza and other stuff from the night before he’d ordered. Getting himself out of the bed, Shiro dug through his bag quickly, pulling the small army of hats he had on him out first before finding himself a shirt. Keith chuckled, watching him curiously. 

“Why do you have so many hats with you?” Keith had a nice smile on his face, pulling plastic wrap off a cup of coffee to dump cream into it. 

Shiro felt the same sudden rush of intense guilt he’d had the night before when Keith asked about his hair. He didn’t want to lie, but he couldn’t really explain that he constantly needed to hide his face in the off chance someone saw him. 

“I work outside a lot.” He said, “keeps the sun off my face, but they get sweaty.” 

Keith had his coffee in hand as he sidled up next to Shiro, checking out the pile of hats as Shiro pulled on his shirt. Keith had sort of a mischievous look on his face, setting down the coffee mug and picking up one of the many hats. 

“Really? Snapbacks?” He asked. Shiro wore them because people seemed to recognize him less in snapbacks specifically, but for now, he just shrugged as Keith picked up a red and black snapback that had the mirror shield from Ocarina of TIme on it. It nearly made Shrio short-circuit, Keith smirking at him and tipping his chin up like a smug teenager. “What do you think?” 

“Uh.” Shiro realized his mouth was hanging open, and Keith chuckled brightly.

“I’ll take that reaction as positive.” Keith leaned up and kissed Shiro on the cheek, not taking the hat off as he picked up his coffee and walked back to the couch. “Come on and eat.” 

Shiro laughed just a bit, he knew that he was a dope, but he loved that Keith didn’t seem to mind at all. He sat close to Keith, letting Keith feed him bacon by hand as he ignored the food in favor of sliding his hands under Keith’s shirt. Keith laughed while Shiro’s hands climbed up his sides, just feeling his skin for a moment. 

“At least let me eat before you get frisky again.” Keith still had a bright smile on his face, turning his head so Shiro had more access to his neck and jaw, letting him plant little kisses there. 

“What? I can’t just want to touch you first thing in the morning?” Shiro nipped at Keith’s jaw and pulled back, going to take the plate he was fairly certain was for him, since it was a club sandwich instead of breakfast food. Keith had figured out early on that Shiro would rather eat lunch than breakfast any day. He could eat a mountain of bacon, but unless he was getting pancakes, he didn’t like eggs particularly, at least not the American way of making them. Cracked over a fresh-cooked bowl of rice was a different conversation. 

“Are you going to try to claim that sliding your hands under my shirt is in no way frisky?” Keith started to dig into his plate of eggs and toast, sipping on his coffee as Shiro took the other mug and started adding cream and sugar to it. So much that Keith was making a face at him. 

“I probably won’t win that argument.” Shiro glanced at Keith, melting a bit when he was reminded that Keith still had Shiro’s hat on. “Also, I can see you judging my coffee habits. Stop it.” 

Keith chuckled. “I absolutely refuse.” 

Shiro smiled, leaning over to catch Keith in a kiss between bites of food. They ate breakfast quickly, and spent some time getting cleaned up before Keith picked up his phone and realized it was dead. After some looking around, Keith realized he didn’t have his charger, but he couldn’t use Shiro’s. Shiro felt the worry creep into his stomach, he thought about the conversation he’d had with Allura about telling Keith before they went out anywhere, but it was only the second day of the trip. He didn’t want to ruin Keith’s vacation. It would only be a short trip to get a charger, they wouldn’t run into anyone if Shiro wore his glasses and a hat, at least he told himself that they wouldn’t. 

He slipped his glasses on as Keith pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, so basic but Shiro so rarely saw him in them that it was kind of rare treat despite the fear building up in Shiro’s chest. Keith kept the hat on though, which meant his face was partially obscured by his bangs, plus he popped a pair of sunglasses on after looking outside, so he was at least covered. 

Before they left, Shiro planted a baseball cap on his head, hoping that it was enough that people wouldn’t notice him at all. They got into the elevator alone, and when they got into the lobby, there were people everywhere, milling about and working or heading out to the casino. Shiro walked behind Keith in the small hall, people passing them and not really looking his way, which was a good sign, but he nearly jumped when he heard someone call over the crowd.

“Keith!” 

Shiro had to process for a moment that someone called out to Keith and not to him, and as he relaxed slightly in the feeling that no one had noticed him yet, the panic restarted when he saw Allura of all people barrelling towards them. She had a bright smile on her face, like when she saw Shiro for the first time in a long time. And to his surprise, Allura threw her arms around Keith’s shoulders, hugging him like an old friend. 

“It’s been far too long!” She pulled back, her hands still on Keith’s shoulders, people were looking, mumbling slightly. Allura didn’t seem to notice, in fact, her eyes went from Keith’s face, to Shiro’s in the next moment, and as Shiro watched everything click together in her head, it was all over her face, he could feel the trouble in the air. “Shiro?” 

“Oh, uh, you two know each other?” Keith asked, turning to glance at Shiro. “I guess that makes sense. Have you worked together before?” 

Allura, who Shiro has only ever known as a friend and has never in her life seemed maternal towards anyone, suddenly had a fierce, motherly look on her face. Like she might eat Shiro if he said the wrong things, her arms going back around Keith’s neck as she pulled him into a protective hug. Keith looked sort of sheepish and confused, but still amused as he laughed and let Allura pull him close. 

“Yes,” Allura said, “I know Shiro rather well.” 

“Oh, uhm,” Keith said, “that’s a little funny. Allura and I were close friends in high school.” 

Allura had a knowing look on her face that made Shiro nervous as he tried to think of a good way to respond. Shiro knew that she was going to yell at him about this later, but there was nothing he could do to save himself now. 

“We were both working on the same movie. The one that just wrapped.” Shiro didn’t say anything more than that, fearing that if he said too much, Allura would call him out for lying on the spot. 

“We were, guess we both had the same idea to stay here for a bit after.” Allura smiled sweetly now, her protective demeanor dropping off somewhat as Keith looked at her. “I guess Vegas is a good meeting point between LA and Arizona, huh?” 

“Yeah.” Keith nodded, “meeting in the middle is easier than making Shiro drive all the way out to my place.” 

“Are you still living in the little house in the desert?” Allura turned to Keith again, but she finally took her arms from around him, even if she’d looked rather natural hanging off him like that. Honestly, seeing the two of them standing next to each other simultaneously made a lot of sense and no sense at all. Either way, Allura was just as famous as Shiro, and drew just as many eyes. He worriedly looked over the crowd, hoping that no one had picked up on his presence. Maybe, even if they saw Allura, she’d distract them from him. 

Keith nodded at Allura, completely unaware still. “I am. I’ve been running hoverbike tours out of it.” 

“Yes! That’s right, actually Shiro told me he really liked the tour when he got back, that must have been yours.” Allura shot Shiro a look when Keith looked away from her, Shiro just tried to look as innocent as possible, even if he could see the flush on Keith’s cheeks. “I’ll have to come take a tour sometime.” 

Keith wilted slightly, looking at Allura again. “Please don’t try to bring Lance. I don’t want to listen to him complain about camping.” 

Shiro perked up at Keith’s brother’s name, realizing that Allura had talked about a Lance before, she had talked about him a lot. That must have been Keith’s foster brother, and as he put this together, Allura laughed and shook her head. 

“Don’t worry, I would never. He’d annoy me just as much.” Allura and Keith both laughed at the comment, “but I’ll get Romelle to come out with me sometime.” 

“That sounds fun.” Keith turned to Allura, softening in a way Shiro had never seen before, it seemed reserved for Allura, which struck Shiro as rather sweet. He was starting to think Keith reacted to each and every person he cared about in a different way. Either way, he didn’t realize quite how much he was staring at Keith until Allura quirked her eyebrow at Shiro, like she was assessing him for the first time. 

“I’ll bring Romelle, and Shiro should come with us, if we can schedule it.” Allura smiled at Shiro again, pulling Keith into a tight hug, “I’m going to be late if I don’t head off. Have a good day you two.” 

“Sounds good. Nice to see you.” Keith waved, smiling sweetly as he watched Allura scurry off and then he turned towards Shiro, “small world, I didn’t realize you knew her so well. ” 

Every single time Shiro kissed Allura’s forehead as her older brother in the fantasy series they just finished filming flashed before his eyes. “Uh, yeah, we’ve worked on a few movies together.” 

“Don’t tell her this,” Keith said, “but I haven’t actually watched anything she’s been in.” 

Shiro chuckled, but he knew that had to be true. Allura and Shiro had been in several movies together before the White Lion series, and if Keith really didn’t know who Shiro was he couldn’t have seen any of his movies. Then again, Shiro’s hair had been black in those movies, but still it seemed unlikely. 

“I won’t tell on you.” Shiro was just glad Allura didn’t call him out right there in the lobby. “She’s pretty famous though, you know that right?” 

Keith shrugged. “Lance has sort of told me. To be honest, I have a lot of trouble seeing her as anyone but Allura.” 

Shiro smiled, chuckling. That was probably a good sign for Shiro, despite how worried the prospect of telling Keith made him. Keith’s hand found his though, and laced their fingers together as Shiro felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He was sure it was Allura, and he saw her name flash on the screen as he tugged it out to turn it back on do not disturb. 

Keith led him through the sun-warm streets, they were off the strip at this hotel, which is part of the reason that Shiro and Allura had been put there in the first place. Now, they wandered down the streets in the open light of day, most people not paying much attention to them as they went about their business, looking for a 7-11 so Keith could buy a charger. Someone did look at Shiro twice, but that was the extent of it, standing in the 7-11 with Keith, sweat beading down their backs just from the bright sun. 

He checked his phone as Keith paid, reading over the four, surprisingly concise messages from Allura, which only contained one threat on his life. But most of them reminded him that he needed to tell Keith about being an actor and being famous, punctuated now by the threat on his life. Shiro took a deep breath as he pocketed his phone, smiling when Keith came back, holding up the charger.

“Want to get lunch on the way back?” Keith looked up at Shiro from beneath the hat, his sunglasses hooked on the collar of his shirt. 

“Uhm.” Shiro panicked for a moment, and then by some grace of god remembered Hunk’s existence. “Yeah, actually, I know a good place around here if you want. It’s not a sit-down place.” 

Keith shrugs, “that’s fine. Even something we could just bring back to the room would be good.” 

“That sounds perfect.” Shiro let Keith pull him out of the 7-11 and then started to lead him towards Hunk’s little deli that wasn’t very far from the hotel. Hunk had met him and Allura on a few occasions while they were trying to dodge crowds, and he had always been kind and while mildly flustered at first, treated them like people and eventually got used to seeing them. 

When they walked in, Hunk smiled, greeting Shiro by his name and leaning over the counter. “The usual?” 

The deli was quiet this time of day, and while a few locals gaped vaguely at Shiro, there weren’t enough for Keith to really notice. Keith, instead, fixated on the case of deli meats and sitting next to those was a case full of pies. When Hunk greeted Shiro by name, Keith glanced between them briefly. 

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t realize you had someone new with you.” Hunk grinned, waving at Keith over the counter.

Keith waved back naturally as Shiro wrapped an arm around his waist. "Nice to meet you," Keith said, "name's Keith." 

"I'm Hunk, nice to meet you too." Hunk shook Keith's hand over the counter, and then Keith settled back into Shiro's arm easily, "Shiro and Allura are usually in here together. I wasn't expecting someone new." 

"We finished filming yesterday." Shiro had to admit, holding onto Keith in a public place felt horribly nice. "So Allura will probably be around on her own today or tomorrow." 

Hunk laughed, "man it's gonna be weird when you all go home. I've gotten used to seeing you daily."

Shiro chuckled, noticing the bright smile Keith now had on his face, "well, Keith and I'll be around for another week. Vegas is between us, so we'll probably be around again, right?" 

"Right." Keith nodded firmly, still smiling as Hunk laughed. 

"I'll take that loyalty," Hunk said, "I'll start telling Takashi Shirogane and his boyfriend are hanging around, maybe it'll bring in more business." 

Shiro felt himself freeze as Hunk chuckled, Keith laughing along like it was a normal joke. Luckily, Hunk seemed to notice the look of discomfort on Shiro's face, which made him wave and confirm that he'd never actually do that. Keith looked confused, but when Hunk rolled right out of the awkward and into taking Keith's order, Keith pretty much instantly dropped it. 

Before they left, while Keith ran into the bathroom, Hunk apologized sincerely to Shiro, which he appreciated. Shiro really earnestly liked Hunk, he felt bad for making him feel weird. 

"Listen," Shiro said, "don't feel bad. This is weird sounding but Keith doesn't know anything about my career." 

Hunk's eyes blew wide, "how is that even possible?" 

"It's a whole thing." Shiro shook his head and waved Hunk off with a smile, "but I'm trying to make sure _I_ tell him before someone else does, so shh." 

Shiro pressed a finger to his lips, and Hunk nodded resolutely, mimicking the motion. When Keith appeared behind them, looking at Shiro quizzically, he nearly jumped out of his own skin. That probably didn't look good, especially since Keith seemed sensitive to the fact that Shiro was hiding something from him. 

"Ready to go?" Shiro asked. Keith nodded quietly, drawing into himself the way he did when he got thoughtful, and Shiro was starting to think it was a sign he was anxious. They waved goodbye to Hunk, Shiro holding the bag with their sandwiches in one hand and Keith's in the other. Hunk had definitely dropped something extra in there, but Shiro hadn't seen what. 

"What were the two of you talking about?" Keith asked, looking back at Shiro as they walked. 

"Whatever extra dessert Hunk gave us for free.." Shiro felt his stomach twist with guilt, listening to Keith hum. He still looked concerned for some reason, and really, Shiro didn't blame him at all. 

Shiro stopped where he was, tugging Keith back to him gently once he stopped and turned to face him. He felt like he should say something, he really knew that he should say something, between Allura today and Hunk, he needed to tell Keith what was going on. Keith looked up at him expectantly, his eyes wide and sweet, their violet color reminding Shiro of the color the desert sky was the night they first spent together. 

"I need to talk to you about something," Shiro started, and then he saw it, the worst thing he could have possibly seen, a camera flash. His eyes moved from Keith's face up to the rapid flashes, and in his hurry to protect Keith's identity, Shiro did the worst thing he possibly could have done. He leaned down and kissed Keith, tugging him down a back way to get to the hotel. "Actually, sorry, it's warm. Let's talk inside." 

"O-Okay." Keith's feet stumbled slightly, but he followed easily, running after Shiro. Shiro could hear his heart pounding in his head, his pulse quick and in his rush to get back to the room, he forgot that running made him weeze. Even as he panted, Keith watching him worriedly once they’d gotten to the room, it took Shiro a moment to remember he needed his inhaler. "Are you okay?" 

Shiro rifled through his bag, pulling the inhaler out and nodding. He took two quick puffs from it, feeling his lungs straining less. "Fine, sorry, uhm."

"That's something you definitely should have put on the medical release form for the tour." Keith gestured at the inhaler vaguely and took a deep breath, evening out his own breathing now. "What were you trying to say before? Why did you run me here?" 

"Oh, uh, right." Shiro looked at the inhaler, of course it wasn't on the medical release, Shiro didn't fill it out, Coran did and that was one secret he'd managed to keep from Coran. He looked back at Keith, thinking about the camera flash and frowning, "I'm sorry. There were people looking at us and I panicked." 

Keith didn't look completely satisfied with that answer, his frown getting deeper. Shiro felt his stomach flutter, Keith softening since Shiro must have looked sick. Shiro looked back at his boyfriend, taking in his dark hair, soft lips, violet eyes, and Shiro panicked all over again. Even if Keith didn't want this, Shiro had already exposed him to it, and Shiro could see the paparazzi bothering him over having once dated Takashi Shirogane. It drove Shiro crazy to think about, and he felt something in him snap, he couldn't do this. 

"Sorry." Shiro looked down at his feet, the crush of his own anxiety coming down on his shoulders. "I love you. I wanted to tell you that I'm really happy you came to see me." 

Keith softened entirely now, obviously sensing Shiro's anxiety as Keith took a few steps forward to cup Shiro's face in his hands. He pulled Shiro down into a soft kiss, his arms going around Shiro's neck as Shiro wrapped Keith up in a hug to try to quell his own shaking. 

"It's okay," Keith mumbled, "if that's not what you were going to tell me, it's all right." 

Shiro felt like he could puke, feeling Keith sway them gently. He pressed his face into Keith's neck, still holding the bag of food. But he let Keith soothe him, let Keith take care of Shiro even though he didn't deserve any of it. 

"I promise I'll be here when you're ready to tell me." Keith turned, taking the bag of food from him and set it down. Shiro felt like someone was twisting a knife into his stomach, letting Keith wrap him up in another hug, and take a deep breath, "there are things I haven't told you. It's okay, that doesn't mean that we don't care about each other."

Shiro knew that he shouldn't let Keith placate him, he knew the problem wasn't that Shiro keeping a secret was bad, and that it was the fact that the longer he waited to tell Keith, the more likely Keith's privacy was invaded the way that Shiro's already had been. But he let Keith pull him in, lick his wounds and promise he'd be there. From the way Keith sounded, he probably thought Shiro was sick, which wasn't the most inaccurate. It wasn't like he didn't have asthma, but no, that wasn't the problem and he knew he should tell Keith but instead he let his anxiety consume him. 

"Hey." Keith had been holding onto Shiro for a solid few minutes, and now he drew Shiro into looking at him, making eye contact and smiling at Shiro. "It's only been six months, we've been kind of intense, it's all right to be a little freaked out. I know I am sometimes." 

Shiro furrowed his brow, leaning down so he could press his forehead against Keith's and he let himself break entirely. "You know the song Fools Rush In?" 

"Yeah." Keith laughed softly, "the movie too, with Selma Hayek, my dad loved that movie." 

"That feels like us sometimes." Shiro smiled just a bit, thinking about how quickly they'd gotten together, and how they'd wound up in love. And now that Shiro thought about it, the time they spent in the desert together, the way they'd had sex the first time they met, how they embraced domesticity and pushed themselves to be together despite the distance, the movie worked well too. Somehow he'd stepped into a real world romcom and he didn't even realize it. You'd think he would have noticed considering he'd been the lead role in three and supporting in at least five at this point. 

Keith looked like he went to mush, his smile find and loving, "I love you." 

"I love you too." Shiro smiled, leaning down to wrap his arms around Keith again, nuzzling against his neck and doing something he'd never been compelled to do, not even with Adam, he hummed a few bars of the song and started to sing softly. Keith laughed, turning into Shiro's neck, the heat of his face giving away just how much he was blushing as Shiro sung into his hair the sappiest love song he had ever known short of the song Whitney Houston songs in Bodyguard. 

He didn't care, he loved Keith so much the embarrassing feeling dropped away, and so did all the stress about telling Keith. Shiro would tell him, yes, but it didn't have to be right this second and Keith would still love him after, he was sure of that. He would tell Keith at the end of the week, and it would be fine. 

And then Shiro forgot to tell him. 

He walked into his apartment in LA, dropped his bag, and felt his stomach fall out of his God damn ass. Shiro hadn't asked Coran to run interference on any paparazzi photos of him and Keith and Shiro had forgotten entirely to tell Keith that he was a famous actor. 

Shiro probably still had time, and while he had wanted to do it in person, at this point it would have to be over the phone. Only problem there, Coran had him booked solid between any final clean-up shots for White Lion, the next part he was starting in between, and ten auditions or screen tests for new projects. Shiro's head was going to explode, he hardly had a moment to himself, hardly got to text Keith, let alone call him. 

Two weeks later, his frustration was hitting its peak at a reshoot with Allura, his anxiety at an all-time high, and Keith slowly but surely starting to think something was up even more than he had before. Shiro’s asthma acted up with his anxiety, and as he sat on set, puffing on his inhaler which he normally didn't even bring with him and stared absently at a green screen, the last thing he wanted to deal with was the suspicious look he got from Allura. 

"Please don't start." Shiro wheezed and coughed taking a moment to swallow down the feeling in his lungs. 

"I was actually going to ask if you were all right." Allura crossed her arms, looking legitimately worried. “You look like you need a doctor.”

"Have you ever seen the movie Fools Rush In?" Shiro looked at her and Allura looked the most confused Shiro had seen her in a long time. When she nodded, he coughed and said, "I feel like Matthew Perry when Salem Hayek's brothers bring him back drunk on Tequila and full of cactus needles." 

"Well that's poetic," Allura said, "everything all right with Keith?"

"I was going to tell him in Vegas and then I completely forgot." Shiro groaned and took another, longer puff, finally feeling the relief. "And now Coran has had me so busy, I've hardly gotten to talk to him." 

Allura frowned, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms. She actually looked empathetic, "please don't kill the messenger. But you're definitely not going to like this." 

Shiro took the tabloid she held out, his eyes feeling like they might boil out of his head. The headline read, 'Takashi Shirogane's new mystery man! Who's lucky enough to have caught his eye?' and then there were three pictures of B-list celebrities that held a vague resemblance to Keith on the cover and Shiro was going to die. 

"Shit." Shiro took the tabloid from her. "He's probably not going to see it, but still." 

"Lance might." Allura frowned.

"I'll call him after the award show tonight." Shiro said it resolutely, his eyes still scanning the tabloid over. He was so tired, he couldn't handle this on top of all the work he'd been doing, and he felt the encroaching break down hitting him all over again. "I think I messed up." 

"Shiro." Allura sat down next to him, setting her hand firmly on his shoulder. "You did make a mistake, but it sounds like this one was honest. Talk to him." 

He nodded, settling his hands over his face and tried to get it together. They still had three more scenes to reshoot, and he needed to be with it. Allura stayed next to him, her hand settled on his shoulder as she texted with one hand. Unsurprisingly, she had texted Coran, telling him he needed to make more room in Shiro's schedule. 

"Thank you, Allura." Shiro shifted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to give her a tight hug. 

"Of course." She smiled, turning to give him a hug over their shakey chairs. "You need to learn to be less of a door mat with Coran. He'll give you room if you ask for it." 

Shiro gave her a sheepish look. "I know." 

Allura chuckled, shaking her head and ruffling Shiro's hair like the loving older sister she was to him. Even if she was four years younger than him. The director called for them in that moment, and they both popped out of their seats, heading over as quickly as they could. Shiro didn't feel great, but he felt better. 

* * *

Keith sat at the table in the little coffee shop that was next to the mechanic shop he worked at, his coveralls still on as he waited patiently. His mom, Krolia his biological mother, took their coffee off the counter and walked over to sit across from him. She set Keith's in front of his hands, frowning just a tiny bit. 

"Are you okay? You look upset." His mom looked genuinely concerned, and while she gave him a lot of distance due to the strangeness of their situation, she didn't seem like she wanted to drop this. She always wanted to comfort Keith when she could, it felt a bit like her trying to make up for being gone as long as she was in the first place. It reminded him of what his Dad used to tell him about her, before she'd gotten sent back to Ukrainia for overstaying her visa despite her having Keith, and before his Dad had died leaving Keith with no connection to her. 

"Well." Keith paused and took a deep breath. He sighed, giving up, his mom cared and even if it was new to him, he was pretty sure she always had. She had spent years trying to get back to America legally so she could be with Keith. He still felt sick thinking about when he had to tell her his Dad was gone. "No." 

"Do you mind if I ask what it is?" Krolia watched him, her eyes scanning his face in a way that felt not unlike the way his other mom, Lance's mom, always did. The familiarity made Keith's nerves settle slightly. 

"It's silly." Keith shook his head and chuckled. "Uhm, the guy I was seeing? He's just, I'm sure he's just been busy, but it's felt lately like he's been pulling away from me." 

"I'm sorry to hear that." Krolia looked genuinely empathetic, looking down at her coffee cup as she played with the lid. When she looked back up at Keith, she opened her mouth to say something and then stopped herself, taking a pause before she spoke. "Have you had the chance to talk to him about it?"

Keith shook his head. "No, that's why it's kind of silly that I'm so worried, but he's always—. I mean, I've known for a bit, I know there's something he's been anxious about telling me. I trust him, but I've been cheated on before and…" 

He looked to find Krolia doing her best not to look angry, her eyes blown wide and her hand balled into a fist on the table. She seemed to take a beat, letting out a breath and shaking it off. 

"Sorry, I just, I wish I could have been there for you through that." She said, "But I am here now, do you think that this man might be cheating on you?" 

Keith chuckled, he couldn't help it. "It's okay, and no. No, I don't think he is but, I'd rather him tell me what's going on than break up with me without ever even telling me what it was." 

Krolia hummed, “you think he’s afraid to tell you?’

“Yeah.” Keith shifted, his elbows on the table as he nervously ran his hand over his shoulder. “It seemed like he was going to tell me when we were in Vegas a few weeks ago, but he panicked. I told him it was okay for him to wait and we had a good talk about our relationship. Now it feels like I did something wrong.” 

“Well.” Krolia sat back a bit, resting her face in her hand as she sipped her coffee. “I don’t know him at all, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you need to talk to him.” 

“You’re right.” Keith sighed and glanced out the window, feeling Krolia’s eyes on him still. 

“If it helps,” Krolia said, “you obviously care a lot about him and if you keep caring like this, I’m sure the two of you will be okay. Though, you still haven’t told me his name.” 

Keith flushed, giving his mom a sheepish look as she smiled at him. “His name is Shiro.” 

“Shiro.” Krolia nodded. “And he lives in LA?” 

“Yeah, he’s in the film industry.” Keith ran his hand over the back of his neck lightly, and smiled thinking about Shiro. Krolia chuckled, an easy smile on her face as she set her coffee down again. 

“It’s not Takashi Shirogane is it?” Krolia looked amused with herself, but Keith stared at her, trying to put together how she would have known his name. There was no way his mother knew him somehow, she only got back to the US two years ago. Krolia’s eyes hit him again, and she realized he didn’t know what she was talking about. “The actor? I’m going to start taking you to see movies when I visit.” 

Keith forced himself to laugh a bit, still sort of confused, but he shook his head. “Oh, uhm, no he’s a sound engineer.” 

Krolia chuckled, “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” 

“Yeah.” Keith nodded and tried to shake it off, but even as they moved on to other conversations, it stuck in the back of Keith’s head. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about it, and as he drove home from town, he wasn’t sure what to do anymore. Keith took a moment as he got into his shack to stand in the one spot he got signal and wish that Shiro would call or send him a message, anything. It felt dumb, standing there, staring at his phone, hoping for his boyfriend to call like the guy getting cheated on in a dumb pop song. Even if he really didn’t think that was the case, it still started to make him feel like Shiro wasn’t telling him something for a reason and Keith was starting to think the reason was him. 

Keith sat down in the middle of the tape on his floor, pressing his hands into his face for a moment and trying to get himself under control when his phone rang. He jumped on it, hitting the answer button without realizing it was a discord video chat, or that it was Lance on the other end. When he realized, his face must have said it all, because Lance went from smiling to brow furrowed and eyes scanning Keith over. 

"Whoa, Keith are you okay?" Lance shifted in his seat, leaning towards his laptop. "I can't believe I caught you when you had signal." 

Lance paused, staring at Keith for a moment as Keith stared back at him. The realization that Keith had been waiting there for Shiro seemed to break Lance's heart and it made Keith kind of ashamed honestly, but really, he'd been lower before. 

"Keith," Lance frowned and ran a hand through his hair, "do you want to come out and stay with me for a while? Are you okay alone out there?"

"I'm." Keith took a deep breath. "I'm being paranoid. I really think I am." 

"What do you think is going on?" Lance looked skeptical, probably because last time Keith said he was being paranoid about something with a relationship, it turned out he was in fact being cheated on. 

"Well, my mom said something weird." Keith said, "you know, Shiro said he was an audio engineer but she made this joke about him not being an actor and I don't know, I'm doubt he's actually lying to me." 

Lance sighed and Keith watched him think for a moment. "Can you send me a picture of him?" 

Keith nodded, pulling up a photo of the two of them and popping it into his chat with Lance. He watched Lance closely, catching the way his eyes widened, and the way he drew back and looked at Keith confused. 

"Are you—?" Lance looked so lost for a moment, "no way, you're not messing with me are you?" 

"What?" Keith frowned, Lance stared at him dumbfounded. 

"Can you send me more pictures of the two of you?" Lance didn’t look angry, but he did look sort of annoyed like he needed to confirm that Keith really wasn't messing with him before he moved on. Keith was pissed off, but luckily Shiro was sort of a shutterbug with selfies and he sent most of them to Keith. So Keith dropped at least ten more photos of the two of them together into the chat before Lance waved his hands. "Okay, okay I get it but how in _hell_ did you meet Takashi Shirogane of all people?" 

"He took a tour!" Keith was beyond frustrated, "why do people keep saying his name like that?" 

Lance stared at Keith owlishly, "Keith he's probably one of the most famous actors from easily the most popular movie franchise right now. Probably second only to Allura." 

Keith felt himself freeze, and he thought about what his mom said, and now with what Lance was telling him. Shiro _had_ lied to him. 

"Wait, wait, wait." Lance threw his hands up in defense, "you look upset, before you look upset, Keith it's completely reasonable that if you didn't know who he was, he wasn't going to correct it. I mean, think of how much shit Allura gets." 

"I guess." Keith bit his tongue for now, "I'm, I have to go. I'll talk to you later Lance." 

"Wait, Keith." 

Keith left the video call before Lance could continue, getting up onto his feet like a zombie. Why _had_ Shiro continued to lie? He almost told Keith in Vegas, but why didn't he? 

He looked around his unimpressive shack, his dust-covered jeans, his hair which he hasn't had cut in more than a year, and he touched the scar on his face from the bike accident he'd gotten in as a teenager. Maybe he just wasn't good enough to be on the red carpet, especially not with Shiro. 

The tears welled up in his eyes as he did something he definitely shouldn't. He knew better on all accounts, but he did it anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to post these, hope you all enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/160772625@N03/48828610556/in/dateposted-public/)

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/160772625@N03/48828610926/in/dateposted-public/)


	6. Chapter 6

Keith was on his bike as soon as he’d looked up Allura’s address and popped it into his GPS. Lance had called him three more times and texted him, but Keith didn’t care to answer it, driving out to the highway and getting on at a bit of a reckless pace. He slowed himself down, reminding himself that he wanted to make it to LA and not get into an accident half-way there.

He stopped to charge his bike about three quarters of the way there, eating something in a small diner before heading out for the rest of the seven hour trip. By the time he got into LA, he found himself at least slightly lost, but eventually he made it to the tall, high rise apartment building, which immediately intimidated him. He was starting to wonder if this was as good an idea as he thought. 

When he walked in, the doorman stopped him, taking his ID and checking him in. “Miss Allura also gave you a parking spot.” 

Keith nodded slightly, this felt sort of strange as he took the key fob for the garage elevator. He looked at it for a moment, and the doorman quirked a brow at him. Standing up straighter, Keith awkwardly shook his head and apologized, thanking them for the information. 

“I’ll open the garage for you once I see you on the camera.” The doorman smiled at Keith and he thanked them again before Keith went to move his bike. He parked in the spot that he was told to, looking over the fancy cars and wondering who else lived in this building. Probably more celebrities, because Shiro was apparently a celebrity. At least Lance had given up on getting a hold of him as he walked up to the elevator, took a deep breath and scanned the fob, realizing his phone was dead as he did it. He didn’t even bring a charger with him, so he was kind of fucked if Shiro told him to leave and never come back after this. 

He stood nervously in the elevator, hitting the button for the 33rd floor and felt his stomach turn in fear. Keith stepped out into the hallway and looked around, finding the first number he could and heading towards 3314, which was apparently the corner unit. The windows all faced into the hallway, Keith looking out onto the lights of LA as he realized that Shiro might not even be home, he might not even be in LA. Though, Allura probably would have told Keith if Shiro was. 

Keith knocked on the door, which felt incorrect in the large, modern building. People probably usually used buzzers, in fact, he wondered if Allura got notified that he was there. She knew what he was up to, but still. 

He heard some knocking around on the other side of the door, and what sounded like someone trying to quickly fasten a belt. Keith suddenly felt like this was more of a terrible idea than he’d thought. It would be much worse if Shiro was pulling away because he was cheating on Keith, or that he was sleeping around in LA and getting the boyfriend treatment with Keith or worse. 

When the door swung open, Keith really felt like this wasn’t fair at all. Of all states to find Shiro in, half in a tux with his bow tie loose and hanging around his neck, jacket gone, and hair mussed like he’d been trying to get some kind of gel out of it immediately made his situation much harder. Shiro looked fucking good like that, and Keith couldn’t prevent his mind from instantly going down that road. 

“Keith?” Shiro looked stunned, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide as he stared down at Keith. He had makeup on his eyes, and maybe foundation or something, but it was smudged like he’d been taking it off. Shiro did seem to be the only one in the apartment though. “What? How did? I was just trying to call you.” 

Keith didn’t realize how angry he started to get, his hands balling up into fists quickly and his voice coming out more harshly than he’d meant it to. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Shiro’s eyes went from sort of pleasantly surprised to terrified. He backpedalled, stammering for a moment as he tried to collect himself. “I-I’m sorry. I know I messed up.” 

“You’ve been lying to me for months!” Keith felt his stomach boil as he looked up at Shrio, obviously back from some kind of event that Keith didn’t even know about. 

“I.” Shiro looked shell shocked, and Keith really didn’t blame him, they’d never even gotten into any sort of real fight, certainly nothing that made Keith angry enough to yell. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” 

“Why?” It came out as more of a demand than a question and it made Shiro jump. He looked startled, and scared, and he opened his mouth and closed it a few times. “Did you just not want me to know? Why have you hardly talked to me in the past few weeks? Were you afraid I would ruin your image?” 

Shiro looked like he’d gone catatonic until the last question came out of Keith’s mouth, at which point, he seemed to shake his head. Keith was too angry for any of this though, and before Shiro could even answer, Keith spun on his heels, heading back towards the elevator. He couldn't look at Shiro gaping at him much longer. Not with all the shame and stupidity he already felt. How did Keith never even know? How can he never tell when someone doesn't actually want him?

"What, no. Keith wait," Shiro called after him. Keith didn't stop, but he could hear some kind of shuffling behind him and then he heard Shiro jogging after him. "No, wait, please." 

Keith didn't stop walking until he felt Shiro's palm on his shoulder, a magazine in his hand which he pushed in front of Keith quickly. He didn't look at it, instead looking at the panic and worry on Shiro's face as he panted slightly. Shiro held onto him tightly, but not enough that Keith felt like he was stuck, but like he was desperate to make Keith listen.

"Please, this is why." Shiro shook the magazine a bit, and Keith took it from him. He looked the tabloid over, suddenly feeling his stomach flutter and his face get hot. That was definitely the two of them on the cover in Vegas, and even in the flash of anger, Keith could see how it would make Shiro panic. "I'm sorry, please, come inside and I can explain."

Keith scowled at the tabloid, because it had only come out that day, and Keith hadn't really heard from Shiro in two weeks, but he was tired, it was nearly midnight, and he missed Shiro. He was an idiot, and even if he'd gotten angry about all of this, he just wanted Shiro to tell him what was going on. 

"Please." Shiro's voice sounded broken and tired, his desperation making him look even more frazzled than when he opened the door. Keith nodded slightly, and the look of relief on Shiro's face nearly made Keith break right then and tell him it was okay. He still wanted to comfort Shiro, even when he was so angry at him. 

Shiro took Keith's hand and led him into the spacious apartment, the wide windows looking out onto the view of the city. It made Keith pause and stare again, his eyes scanning the sleek modern furniture, all of which had clothes draped on them, except for the soft couch in the middle, which looked sort of out of place since it was more traditional and made of a comfortable looking velvet material instead of the woven upholstery on other pieces. The coffee table had a mix of scripts, coffee mugs, and a few plates on it, none of which looked too dirty, just some crumbs on them. Beyond all of that, Keith could see two doors that looked like they went to bedrooms. 

"Sorry, I'd liked to claim it's not always like this, but it kind of is." Shiro let Keith go and offered for him to sit down, heading around the small island to get to the fridge. "Water?" 

"Yes please." Keith felt hoarse and tired, sinking into the couch and watching Shiro move through the modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. He really looked like he belonged there in the tux, even with his hair a mess.

Shiro brought him the water and then said he had to change out of the tux still, leaving Keith there as he held onto his glass. He sat quietly, taking in the apartment and thinking about all the yelling he'd just done. Keith felt kind of bad, he showed up and just bombarded Shiro without even a bit of a warning. 

When Shiro came back, he looked like _Keith's_ Shiro, joggers, a soft t-shirt, hoodie because he was somehow always sort of cold. He also had his glasses on, and the makeup smudges were gone, replaced by watery eyes that could either have been from taking out his contacts or crying, Keith wasn't really sure. Keith felt the guilt fill his stomach, he wouldn't have wanted to make Shiro cry, he just couldn't control himself before. He looked down at the tabloid in his hands, the photo of Shiro kissing him on the street, and Keith could sort of place when it happened in his head. 

Keith broke, he’d thought the worst thing would have been to lose Shiro without knowing what was going on, but now he realized that the worst thing was to lose Shiro at all. Especially if he lost him because Keith decided to show up and scream his head off at him rather than handling this like an adult. His hands shook slightly, watching Shiro move and just hoping that this wasn’t the end. 

* * *

Shiro stood in his bathroom listening to his heart race in his ears for a moment. This is everything he had feared and somehow worse all at the same time. Allura had warned him that Keith might be mad about this, and that was before she even knew that it was Keith he was dating. He really should have seen this coming. 

He stared at himself in the mirror, near catatonic after the way he’d nearly shut down on Keith. His body had acted on instinct alone when he’d gone after him, and thank god that he did because he desperately wanted Keith there and with him at the moment, not somewhere out in LA by himself. 

Taking a deep breath on his inhaler, Shiro tried to quell the anxiety in his stomach before he started to change. He didn’t even notice he was crying and shaking until he was trying to get a fresh pair of boxers on, needing to steady himself on the wall to actually stand on one leg long enough to pull them up. His contacts came out easily at least, and as he got the make up off his face and slipped on his glasses, he wasn’t sure what would be worse, going out and finding Keith gone, or going out there and having Keith promptly dump him. 

When Shiro actually go the courage to leave his bedroom, he found Keith, still just sitting on the couch, looking sort of dazed with the tabloid in hand. Shiro had never meant to bring them to this, and now all he could think about was how it would be his fault Keith left him. 

"I'm sorry." Keith's voice sounded gone, hoarse and unsure of himself. "I hadn't planned on yelling at you." 

Shiro felt the shock hit him, but it was hard to comprehend that Keith had apologized to him. Keith hadn’t even done anything wrong, and all Shiro just looked at him confused as he settled down on the floor next to the coffee table. He shook his head, "no, I feel like that reaction was justified. I'm sorry." 

"I just, don't understand why you didn't tell me sooner." Keith's voice broke and he looked almost ashamed for a moment. 

"I." Shiro took a moment to collect his thoughts, trying desperately to search for a good answer for Keith. An answer Keith deserved. "I'm sorry, I never meant for you to find out from someone else. I had meant to tell you when we were still in Vegas, but I honestly can't justify why I didn't. It just slipped my mind." 

"So this is what you were trying to tell me?" Keith asked. 

Shiro nodded, not able to fully make eye contact with Keith at the moment, "especially after Hunk made that comment. But I saw that someone was taking pictures of us and panicked.”

“Oh, so that’s why you dragged me back to the hotel room.” Keith looked back at the tabloid, his eyes scanning it for just a second, and then he turned his attention to the couch next to him, not meeting Shiro’s eyes either. Shiro couldn’t really take this, on top of not telling Keith and hurting him, it seemed like Keith blamed himself somehow. 

“I’m sorry.” Shiro tried to make eye contact with Keith now, “I should have told you sooner, I just, I knew you liked your privacy and I was afraid that once you knew you wouldn’t want to be with me. I never meant to make you think I didn’t want you around Keith, I really am in love with you.” 

Keith’s mouth fell open, and when his eyes met Shiro’s this time all that lie beyond them was astonishment. Shiro chewed on the inside of his lip, just looking back up at Keith as he gave him time to process. He didn’t want to interrupt whatever Keith was thinking about. 

“You.” He paused. “You didn’t tell me because you thought I wouldn’t want to be in the public eye?” 

“Well.” Shiro wanted to be totally honest at this point, “at first it was just that I didn’t want you to know. When we were on the tour, you were treating me like—” 

He cut himself off with a little hiccup and pressed a hand to his face. Shiro really hadn’t noticed the crying, he rarely did because he had grown used to forcing himself to cry. Now when he cried out of sadness, since it didn’t take force, he didn’t notice it. His eyes started to sting now though, wiping at them with the palm of his hand and trying to look at Keith. 

“Sorry.” Shiro hiccuped again and took his glasses off, setting them down on the coffee table. “I just, it’s not very often I feel like people are genuine with me, they don’t treat me like another person and you were, and I. I didn’t mean to lie.” 

Keith had moved and Shiro hadn’t noticed until he felt Keith’s hand around Shiro’s wrist. Shiro let Keith pull his hand away from his face, turning up to find Keith looming over him just enough to crawl into Shiro’s lap. His fingers ran over Shiro’s cheeks, gently wiping away the tears as he kissed Shiro’s forehead. He wrapped an arm around Shiro’s shoulders, shushing him a bit as Shiro naturally curled into Keith’s chest, feeling the soft shirt and letting himself find comfort in Keith’s warmth. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong Shiro.” Keith ran his nails over the back of Shiro’s head, “I’m sorry, I should have just come and talked to you. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you did anything wrong.” 

Shiro shivered at the comfort, pressing his face harder into Keith as he let the last few hiccups and tears pass before he spoke. “I lied.” 

Keith nodded, “you did. But there’s no way I can blame you for it.” 

He pulled back to look at Shiro again, running his fingers through Shiro’s hair again, “and it’s not like you lied about everything. You’re still you.” 

“I.” Shiro thought for a moment, “I lied about why I dye my hair, it’s for a part.” 

Keith’s mouth pressed into a hard line, “Shiro, that is probably the smallest lie you could have possibly told me in all of this.” 

“Yeah, but—” Shiro was going to chastise himself again, but Keith leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on his lips and cut him off. He leaned up into it, the fear of losing Keith ebbing away as he pressed Shiro back on to the ground, firmly and held him there so Keith could cover him in kisses, making sure never to be away from Shiro’s lips long enough to let him talk. Not until he went for Shiro’s neck, nosing at his skin and planting gentle kisses there. “Keith.” 

“I love you,” Keith said. Shiro felt his heart skip a beat the same way it did the first time that Keith said it. 

“I love you too.” Shiro pressed his face into Keith’s neck for a moment, “so you’re not dumping me?” 

Keith chuckled, pulling back with a dumb grin on his face, “no I’m not. Though I am a little bit mad you have never brought me here before. You have a really good view.” 

“Oh, yeah, to be honest, I don’t get to spend a ton of time here.” Shiro glanced back at the windows, “I mostly crash here if I happen to be in town. At this point, your shack feels more like home to me.” 

“Really?” Keith looked around again, “not here?” 

Shiro smiled back at him, “yeah, because you’re at the shack.” 

Keith flushed red down to his chest, suddenly getting sheepish and sweet looking. He kissed Shiro slowly, letting his arms slide around Shiro’s neck as he settled himself into Shiro’s lap more. Shiro met him easily, letting the kiss stay soft for now, until Keith nipped at Shiro’s lip and coaxed Shiro’s tongue into his mouth.

Shiro stammered for a second when Keith pulled back, and then Shiro caught Keith’s lidded expression, the way he looked at Shiro when he wanted nothing more than to physically show Shiro how much he cared. Keith’s eyes went from sweet to dark in a moment, his lips turned up in a bit of a smirk, his hands landing on Shiro’s shoulders again. 

“Well,” Keith glanced at the window. “Would it feel more like home if you pressed me up against that window tonight?” 

Shiro felt his jaw fall open, and he sat up, getting his hands under Keith’s thighs easily so he could scoop him up. Keith chuckled, clinging to Shiro’s shoulders as he carried Keith away from the couch. 

“I thought that might get your attention.” Keith ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair, dragging his nails over Shiro’s scalp and making him hum softly.

“Of course you would.” Shiro snorted softly, dropping Keith in his bed which was pressed up against the windows which covered two walls in the room. They were coated so that they were reflective on the outside, meaning they never had to worry about being seen by a camera or something pointed in. As he settled his lips against Keith’s again, he smiled and let himself melt into his boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the date for when this posted since I realized I've had it tagged with the Keith/Shiro friendship tag like a putz. This will put it in the correct tag so people looking for Sheith can see it.


	7. Epilogue

Shiro settled back in the chair, laughing softly as Allura made a face at the interviewer who didn’t seem to understand she was sick of the questions about how she was possibly keeping her hair healthy while it was silver. He never got asked that, and he didn’t blame her for being annoyed by it. 

“The same thing Shiro does.” She gestured at him, and Shiro nodded promptly. 

“Yup, conditioner, it works.” He tried to avoid crossing his arms, it was hard when he was both bored by an interviewer and annoyed. 

“Right.” The interviewer cleared his throat, “well, Mr. Shirogane, the fans would really like to know more about the mystery man you’re dating.” 

That made Allura crack a smile, and she looked quickly at Shiro as he chuckled. 

“I’m sure they would,” he said. “But you know, it’s hard to explain, he’s not from this planet so I can’t really tell you where he’s from or how to say his name.” 

The interview stared at him owlishly, “not of this planet?” 

“That is correct.” He could almost hear the way Keith was probably laughing back at his apartment, watching this failure of an interview happen. They’d come to an agreement, Keith went with Shiro to red carpet events, but they never talked to the press together. Now it had become a fun game for Shiro to tell a different story to everyone who asked. He tried to step it up every time. Allura giggled next to him, she was becoming a big fan of this game. 

“Oh, well.” The interviewer was floundering with their words, and they cleared their throat. “How about we talk about the filming location? Did you like being in Vegas for this one?” 

It was directed at Allura, and she smiled, gracefully answering that question with a resounding no. She didn’t like arid climates, she’d said so in plenty of interviews before this. The poor interviewer fumbled through the next three or four questions before thankfully releasing Shiro and Allura from their own personal hell. 

“Ready?” Allura looked far too excited, her hands going through her hair as she pulled it up into a high bun with ease. 

“Of course.” Shiro led her to his car, and took the first part of the drive which included a quick stop for something to eat. Allura took over at a gas station, driving them out into the little desert town where they parked in front of the mechanic’s shop, seeing Romelle pop out of the window as soon as they pulled up.

“Allura! Shiro! I’ll open the garage door!” She waved and then slipped right back into the window, as Allura laughed. They pulled into the garage once it opened, waiting for it to close behind them before they got out of the car. Romelle came bolting at Allura, practically jumping into her arms once she got close enough. “It’s so good to see you!” 

Shiro chuckled, watching them as he snuck past to head upstairs. He couldn’t see Keith yet, but he heard the sound of cooking, and then he could hear Keith yell. 

“So I’m an alien this time?” Keith had a pan of meat on the stove, looking back at Shiro with a spatula in hand. Shiro grinned, walking up behind Keith so he could wrap him in a hug and kiss the back of his neck gently. It made Keith laugh, turning back to his pan of beef which he’d dropped a bunch of stock into just now, it looked like something his mom had taught him to make. 

“I thought you’d like that one.” Shiro squeezed Keith and pressed a sweet kiss on his lips, “would you have preferred if I’d picked a planet that you came from?” 

Keith chuckled, pouring cream over his pan and dumping paprika into it quickly, “I like this one, maybe pick a planet so you can keep it consistent.” 

Shiro laughed, pulling away from Keith as Romelle and Allura came up the stairs, chatting quickly about the pretty woman that Allura was shooting a movie with. She was an up and coming actress that Shiro had started seeing around more and more, Romelle seemed to like her a lot. 

Keith finished dinner, serving it over noodles and passing around sour cream for on top. The four of them settled around the table, Keith explaining what they were doing the next day for the tour. His shack had become business only, Axca’s parents happily renting the apartment above the mechanic’s shop out to Keith. He’d slowly started to catch up on modern movies, teasing Shiro about all of the romcoms he’d been in and calling him White Lion more and more because it made Shiro turn bright red. 

Romelle and Allura did dishes, leaving Keith and Shiro to nestle into the couch with beers in their hands. Keith leaned himself into Shiro heavily, purring a soft, “I’m testing a new tour on the three of you tomorrow.” 

“Oh yeah?” Shiro looked down at Keith, an arm across his shoulders and his beer bottle pressed to his lips. 

“Yeah, with the little bump in business from you guys, I thought I’d try out an extended tour.” Keith smiled a bit more. 

The word had gotten out amongst several of Allura and Shiro’s more famous friends that Keith was a safe opportunity to take a nice vacation where they wouldn’t get gawked at or treated strangely, now Keith had six hover bikes and he was close to spending more time with the tours than he was in the mechanic’s shop, to the point that they’d hired on another mechanic named Rizavi who was absolutely convinced that Keith couldn’t actually be dating Takashi Shirogane, but she was harmless. Axca and Keith were careful to keep Shiro out of her sight, more for the fun of it more than anything else. Keith was excited for when Shiro did finally meet her, he said it was funny whenever they did something to blow her mind. 

“Does that mean I get free tours for a lifetime?” Shiro asked. 

Keith smirked, “for the White Lion? Of course.” 

“God.” Shiro pressed a hand over his face, he was never prepared for when Keith did that. “Forget I asked.” 

Keith laughed, moving over so Romelle and Allura would have space on the couch to join them, the two of them asking why Keith was laughing so hard. Keith managed to distract them quickly so they didn’t have to explain what he’d done to make Shiro so blushy and dumb. As the four of them settled down into the couch to watch a movie, Keith leaned his head over to gently kiss Shiro’s cheek.

Romelle and Allura had both nodded off, leaning into each other as Keith smiled at Shiro. Shiro moved to cup Keith’s face, pecking him on the lips, “my pretty mechanic.” 

Shiro smiled more as Keith flushed down his neck, hiding his face in Shiro’s shoulder as they both laughed a little bit. “My White Lion.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last part of this story, feels good to officially wrap it up here on Ao3! Thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments!!

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! I'm so excited to finally get this out, I've been writing this since April or May, so it feels nice to get the first two chapters out. Hope you all like it! 
> 
> If you want to see more of my writing, follow me on twitter: @Galaxiebot :)


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